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The need for inexpensive yet highly efficient photodetectors and solar cells is driving the search for a new generation of semiconductors that have high absorbance in the visible, broad wavelength operation range, are transparent and flexible albeit with strong light-matter interaction, and are easy to process. Manufacturing these optoelectronic devices at a large scale involves concerns at technological, economical, ecological, social and political levels. Ideally, the new materials are abundant, easily processed and feature long term stability and non-toxicity. The advent of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). e.g., MoS2 and WS2, has generated great expectations since these materials fulfill all these requirements. 2D-TMDCs exhibit direct band gaps, high absorption coefficients, and high carrier mobility values, making them promising candidates for optoelectronic applications. The out-of-plane quantum confinement responsible for the direct bandgap in the monolayer, also allows for the modulation of the bandgap as a function of the number of layers. However, for photovoltaics (PV), even if transparency is an important attribute in some niche markets, e.g. building-integrated PV, thickness-limited absorption poses a challenge in general. To overcome this issue, we propose a photonic nanostructuration to maximize light harvesting in these devices. We will combine strong interference effects based in the small penetration in a metallic substrate and the light trapping due to the nanostructuration by lithography of TMDCs over a metallic substrate. Resonators with high-quality factors will have potential applications in light harvesting devices, such as photodetectors, but also in solar cells. We will design and fabricate such an efficient photodetector, and also a solar cell incorporating the photonic design, and demonstrate enhanced performance in a metal back reflector/TMDC/graphene device.

Methylene blue is the first fully synthetic drug used in medicine, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. In addition, thioethers derivatives are important materials that are used in organic, bioorganic and medicinal chemistry and are also known to exhibit different biological activities such as antioxidant and antibacterial. These compounds are synthesized commercially by chemical methods that suffer from significant limitations, such as expensive and toxic reagents, solvents, tedious work-up, safety problems. Organic electrosynthesis is recognized as a typical environmentally friendly process with features that many of which cannot be achieved by other methods. Most electroorganic processes are performed under reagentless and mild conditions in one step using efficient and ecofriendly methods and are in agreement with all the principles of green chemistry. Within this field, the use of microreactors in continuous flow is also concurrent with electrochemistry because of its convenient advantages over batch, such as no supporting electrolyte at all, due to the small distance between electrodes; high electrode surface-to-reactor volume ratio, short residence time and etc. This project aims to fabricate an electrochemical flow microreactor by the novel method of photolithography to decrease the interelectrode gap below 100µm. Thus, the resulting device should be suited to the electrosynthesis of a wide range of reactions without a supporting electrolyte solution. Through the present project, we also aim electrochemical synthesis of methylene blue and some new thioethers derivatives for the first time with a facile one-pot and supporting electrolyte-free method. Overall, this method has shown to be a promising tool for electrosynthesis and improving the outcome of standard batch cells. As well as, during the whole of the project the ER will gain maximum knowledge in microfluidic integrated devices and benefit from entrepreneurship skills.

Deductive software verification, a subject within the broader field of formal methods, proposes a very ambitious path: to turn the correctness of a computer program into a mathematical statement, and then prove it. This project aims to develop a deductive verification framework, with a clear focus on proof automation, that directly tackles the verification of OCaml-written programs. OCaml seems to be particularly good target for verification. On one hand, it is the language of choice for the implementation of sensible software such as proof assistants, automated solvers, and compilers. On the other hand, OCaml is a multi-paradigm language, supporting both the functional and imperative paradigm, one can write clean, concise, type-safe, and efficient code. Yet, a verification tool that can handle hand-written code and is mostly automated does not currently exist. OCaml programmers must chose between proof automation, with the price of learning and programming in a verification-aware language, and then perform code extraction, or tools that require manual proof assistance. The Cameleer project aims to remedy this situation by providing the tools and principles for the verification of OCaml programs. The main outcome of this project is a powerful, usable, and mostly automated verification framework for the OCaml-written code. This will be a major step towards making verification more accessible to OCaml programmers, even in case they are not verification experts. The Cameleer framework will feature a translation of OCaml programs annotated with specifications written in GOSPEL, a recently proposed specification language, to different intermediate verification languages, namely WhyML, Viper, and Coq. This coexistence of multiple intermediate verification infrastructures allows the devised framework to target the verification of a large subset of OCaml programs, while combining the strengths of each individual intermediate language to obtain better verification results.

Singlet exciton fission is a carrier multiplication process in organic semiconductors that generates two electron-hole pairs for one photon absorbed, affording quantum efficiencies up to 200%. Photovoltaic devices based on singlet fission have received large attention recently for their potential in efficiency enhancement and to break the Shockley-Queisser limit on the efficiency of single-junction photovoltaics. Recent advancements in singlet fission have been materials-limited due to the rarity of molecules which meet the essential energetic requirement for the process, that the energy of the lowest triplet excited state be approximately half the energy of the lowest singlet excited state. Also important is to ensure the chemical stability of the candidate compounds that would broaden their application prospect. In this proposal, we exploit the excited-state aromaticity view to manipulate the excited state energy levels and build novel singlet fission candidates. Based on theoretical and experimental study, selective models will be evaluated, synthesized and analysed, aiming at a novel strategy for manipulating the excited state energy and stability of organic semiconductors with the aromaticity view. The main aimis to demonstrate highly stable, tuneable organic materials which undergo singlet fission through exploitation of the aromaticity of both the ground state and excited states and feasible design rules for these materials. The materials are expected to be promising candidates as singlet fission functional layer for solar cells and other multiple exciton generation applications. The result concept represents better understanding and tailoring excited state properties of organic semiconductors, which can be expended to wide range of materials with particular excited state nature for even wider application prospect.

The present project is positioned in the research area of logic and semantics of computation, combining a rich mathematical theory with concrete applications in computer science. Finite model theory (FMT) is the specialisation of model theory to the class of finite models, and has been called ``the logic of computer science'' because in the latter field the basic models of computation are finite. Most of the classical results of model theory fail when restricted to finite models, hence FMT is studied using different tools and methods. For this reason, FMT has developed mostly independently from model theory and the research communities, as well as the techniques, are almost disjoint. FMT exemplifies a strand in the field of logic in computer science focussing on expressiveness and complexity (``Power"), as opposed to the one focussing on semantics and compositionality (``Structure"). In this project we will apply Stone duality to bridge the gap between the semantics methods of model theory, and the combinatorial and complexity-theoretic methods of FMT, i.e., to relate Structure and Power. In his Ph.D. thesis, the applicant has successfully applied Stone duality and topology to the study of formal languages and logic on finite words. The proposed project constitutes both a natural continuation of this research line, generalising from finite words to finite models, and a novel approach to FMT. The applicant will collaborate with the supervisor, who is a leading expert in the interactions between logic and computational models arising in computer science. An essential feature of this project is its high degree of interdisciplinarity, aiming to strengthen the connections between mathematics and computer science. The host institution, which is home to several experts in logic and foundations of computer science, will benefit from the applicant's experience in duality theory and topology, thus fostering cross-fertilisation within the European research community.

CADENZA aims at developing a detailed trajectory broker concept for the European network, incorporating advanced demand-capacity balancing mechanisms. It builds upon the findings of the 2019 Jane’s-ATC-Innovation-award-winning SESAR Exploratory Research project COCTA, as well as upon latest industry developments. The trajectory broker will balance capacity and demand through a coordinated capacity provision process and collaborative trajectory management (including a novel trajectory charging scheme). CADENZA covers all areas of capacity provision (en-route, terminal area, and airport) as well as all temporal levels (strategic, pre-tactical and tactical). Based on previous research we expect significant improvements in cost-efficiency as well as positive impacts on other key performance indicators, especially delays. The CADENZA concept will be thoroughly validated, using mathematical models and comprehensive real-world trajectory data. Sensitivity analysis will incorporate non-nominal conditions as well as different assumptions with respect to the overall air traffic management framework, e.g., different levels of flexibility in capacity provision. Moreover, a high degree of stakeholder involvement – including an industry expert panel and stakeholder workshops – ensures practical relevance.

One of the greatest challenges for modern radiotherapy is ventilation causing motion of tumours and surrounding healthy structures. Technically, modern radiation delivery systems enable in principle very accurate radiation targeting of the tumour and avoiding radiation damage to healthy tissue. However, to deliver sufficient dose to a continuously and irregularly moving tumour, it is necessary to irradiate the tumour with a large margin. Currently such a large margin means irradiating a volume of healthy tissue that is about equal to that of the tumour itself. The healthy tissue damage is itself problematic. But it also prohibits further raising the radiation dose to the tumour to enhance the probability of tumour destruction and thus patient survival. I have invented the use of non-invasive mechanical ventilators to revolutionise radiotherapy delivery, by prolonging breath-hold duration beyond 5 minutes and by reducing and regularising breathing movements. I have demonstrated this works with breast cancer patients. To support its clinical adoption it is now necessary to train other staff to use mechanical ventilation, demonstrate it works with other cancer patient groups, measure the reductions in internal movement of tumours and healthy structures, show how these would produce superior treatment plans and that all this works in another European hospital. My career goal is for me to use the evidence derived from the fellowship to fund the introduction of non-invasive mechanical ventilators first back in our own department (Birmingham, UK), then for me to lead a multi-centre evaluation trial across Europe and finally to lead its introduction into radiotherapy practice throughout Europe.

The project of “PeSD-NeSL” is a fundamental and scientific project that will be carried out by Dr. Jin Zhang under the supervision of Prof. Angel Rubio. Dr. Zhang is a theoretical scientist with extensive experience and good publication records in the field of laser-excited carrier and structural dynamics. Prof. Rubio is the managing director of the Theory Department of MPSD and one of the leading experts in fields of ab initio calculations of electron excitations and dynamics in Physics, Chemistry, and Biophysics. This project will also involve collaborations with top international experimental and theoretical groups. The proposed project “PeSD-NeSL” is focusing on the non-equilibrium states and dynamics under laser in van der Waals (vdW) stacked materials, including carrier multiplications, light-induced Moiré engineering, interlayer Moiré exciton, light-induced insulator-metal phase transition among others. The intriguing processes provide a strong motivation for studying microscopic details of optical responses in vdW materials upon laser excitation. The underneath microscopic interactions among photon, electron, exciton, phonon and other quasi-particles are crucial and far from being clearly understood as they relate to the macroscopic quantum phenomena. We will perform state-of-the-art numerical experiments in three parts: Part 1. Carrier multiplications in two-dimensional monolayers and vdW heterostructures; Part 2. Light-induced Moiré engineering and Moiré excitons in vdW bilayers; Part 3. Photoinduced phase dynamics and non-equilibrium states in TMD layers. We aim to establish a clear relationship between microscopic interactions and macroscopic quantum phenomena in low-dimensional materials under field perturbations. The success of “PeSD-NeSL” will consolidate the leadership of MPSD group in condensed matter physics, material science, and nanoscience, and create more advanced and effective methodological tools for other scientists in related fields.

Pollination is crucial to life on the planet. Bees and other pollinators have thrived for millions of years, ensuring food security and nutrition, and maintaining biodiversity and vibrant ecosystems for plants, humans and the bees themselves. Globally, 75% of crops producing vegetables, fruits and seeds for human consumption depend on pollinators for sustained production, yield, and quality. In recent years, most countries in the world have reported high rates of disorders affecting their honeybee colonies. The seemingly unpredictable loss of bee colonies exacerbates the shortage of pollinators, which reached an unprecedented global rate of ~30% compared to 2%-3% a couple of decades ago. The device beekeepers rely on to manage bees and take care of their ongoing upkeep is a wooden box designed 150 years ago, the beehive we’re all accustomed to seeing in the field. This “technology” does not allow beekeepers to maintain healthy bees in the face of modern challenges like pests, diseases, and climate change. Furthermore, this is the technology utilized to pollinate 75% of global crops for 7 billion humans, resulting in the most extreme pressure bees have ever experienced. Beewise developed the Beehome platform, which is a modular commercial AI-powered apiary composed of hardware and software that fully automates beekeeping while optimizing pollination and honey production. The technology is not exclusive to honeybees and can support various species of bees that face extinction as well. The platform includes an automated robotic brood box management system, a computer vision-based monitoring system, AI-based decision making, an automated honey harvesting system and systems for pest control, feeding, and thermoregulation. The key objectives of the project are to optimize the software and the AI, to finalize the engineering of the hardware components, to validate the technology in a two-stage in-field testing and to obtain the CE mark for commercialization in Europe.

The goal of this project is to exploit ancient Northern European landraces and improve the ability of the important cereal, barley, to acquire and utilize nutrients from the soil more efficiently. Climate change pressures and degradation of arable lands are expected to increase the need to produce feed and food even in unfavorable environments, such as marginal soils with inherent nutrient limitations. Thus, it will be a major breeding focus to select traits associated with enhanced crop robustness in order to secure the future demand for plant products. In this context, recent work has demonstrated a superior capacity of Northern European barley landraces, adapted to marginal soils, to acquire and allocate essential micronutrients. This project aims to advance our knowledge of adaptive traits conferring nutrient use efficiency. This will be achieved by bridging disciplines of plant genetics and plant nutrition, not only by unravelling functions of individual genes, but also by capturing the compensatory adjustments at the transcriptome and molecular physiology levels, preserved in landraces but seemingly lost from modern elite cultivars. The overall scientific objective is to identify the genetic control of nutrient stress tolerance, and specifically to: (i) use exome capture sequencing to identify candidate genes involved in nutrient deficiency tolerance; (ii) study the transcriptional responses of these genes under nutrient stress and their dynamics with time after stress recovery; (iii) describe in detail the physiological responses contributing to improved nutrient stress tolerance of major cereal crops. The proposed project will deliver quantitative information and a predictive understanding of nutrient stress tolerance and will provide new breeding material. The findings will act as an exemplar for other major cereals to expand cultivation and stabilize yields in marginal previously unproductive land.