On 20 August 2025, the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG) co-organised a symposium on “ERC Funding in Quantum Science” as part of the joint annual meeting of the Austrian Physical Society (ÖPG) and the Swiss Physical Society (SPS), hosted at the University of Vienna.
The symposium was part of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology and highlighted the role of the European Research Council (ERC) in supporting frontier, curiosity-driven research. The event brought together ERC grantees to show how ERC funding contributes both to advancing fundamental knowledge and to opening opportunities for technological development.
The programme included talks by:
- Francesca Ferlaino (Austrian Academy of Sciences): When Crystals Flow: The Emergence of Supersolid Quantum States
- Yiwen Chu (ETH Zurich): A Mechanical Qubit
- Shahal Ilani (Weizmann Institute of Science): The Quantum Twisting Microscope: Visualizing Waves in Quantum Matter
- Jaksa Vucicevic (Institute of Physics Belgrade): Models and Methods in the Study of High-Temperature Superconductivity
- Dragan Mihailović (Jozef Stefan Institute): Nonequilibrium Quantum Self-Assembly
The event concluded with a Science and Society Seminar by Nobel Laureate Serge Haroche, titled The Laser in Quantum Science.
A panel discussion on “From Blue Sky Research to Quantum Technologies” invited experts to reflect on the path from basic research to technological applications, highlighting the broader value of ERC-funded projects.
With this event, AERG continues its mission to represent and support ERC grantees while underscoring the ERC’s contribution to scientific excellence and European research leadership in quantum science.
For more information on the ÖPG-SPS Meeting: https://oepg-sps-meetingvienna2025.univie.ac.at/