My experience with the ERC starting grant application

1
My experience with the ERC starting grant
application
NWO / EG-Liaison Den Haag, 9 July 2008
Lieven Vandersypen
2
General advice

• Its as much about impressions as content
• Show enthusiasm, drive, desire if youre not
  excited, the panel certainly wont be.
• Be clear and structured in what you propose
• Avoid lists of unconnected items, instead build
  a story (unlike this presentation).
• Be ambitious, aim high in your scientific goals
• Think about and show a bold vision of where your
  field will go. Dont sink away in details.
• At the same time think through enough details for
  yourself, and demonstrate you also know the
  details to make things happen.
• Show confidence
• Use (many) colorful pictures to convey the
  central ideas.

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Some advice from a panel member

• Besides many of the same points I just made
• Consider that panel members have to review gt 100
  proposals.Quick impressions are important
  (strong abstract, clear goals, clear structure,
  CV)
• Really work hard on your proposal and
  presentation show that you care.

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Help preparing ERC proposals

• For me, comments by senior colleagues were most
  helpful.
• Also ask someone outside your field to read your
  proposal.
• I didnt receive any other help, but additional
  advice could pay off it can help build a good
  impression

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Some questions the panel asked me(others got
very different questions)

• Who are your main competitors? How/why do you
  think you can beat them?
• Where else in Europe could you carry out this
  research? Is Delft the best place?
• Why dont you focus on one material system?
• Why dont you use carbon nanotubes instead (some
  other experimental system) ?
• Will charge noise not kill your project?
• What is most innovative in your proposal?
• (dont remember)

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Who got funded?

• Both relatively experienced and inexperienced
  starting investigators.
• Common properties
• Strong CV, not necessarily top CV
• Ambitious, original plans
• Reasonably realistic plans
• Strong vision, personality
• Some luck
• As far as I can tell, politics did not get in the
  way.

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Preparation of the grant agreement

• It is painfully slow and complicated, not
  focussed on science but on rules, signatures and
  paperwork.
• (very much unlike NWO)
• In the end, my grant started only on July 1st.
• You cannot take many shortcuts.
• Obviously its worth it
• Different panels handled budgets differently.
• Dont be (too) modest in the budget youre
  requesting.
• Think creatively about your future needs. This is
  a unique opportunity.

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My presentation, for your information

• Obviously, there are many ways of writing
  succesful proposal and giving succesful
  presentations.
• I just give you mine, in case you find it useful.

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Control of entangled electron spins on a chip
ERC Starting grant presentationBrussels, 9
October 2007
Lieven Vandersypen
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Entanglement from debate to resource
Spooky action at a distance? EPR
paradox 1900-1960

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Nano meets quantum a quantum dot as a tunable
artificial atom

• Confinement
• Discrete charges
• Discrete orbitals

• Electrical control and detection
• Tunable of electrons
• Tunable tunnel barriers
• Electrical contacts

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Spin qubits in GaAs dots (2002-2007)
1
T1 100ms-1s
-1.1
P(ES)
0,2
0,1
0,0
1,2
1,1
0
2,2
1,0
0
4
8
20
2,1
2,0
waiting time (ms)
-0.9
Elzerman et al., Nature 2004
Elzerman et al., Nature 2004
0
-0.6
T2 0.5 -1ms
(echo)
B(t) Koppens ea, Nature 2006
Petta et al., Science 2005 Koppens et al.,
Science 2005
Petta et al., Science 2005
E(t) Nowack ea, unpublished
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Research goals (2008-2012)
Central theme entanglement (where true
quantumness begins)

• 1. Detection and control of entanglement
• 2. Exploiting entanglement
• 3. Protecting entanglement
• 4. Quiet devices

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Detection and control of entanglementBells
inequalities with spins on a chip
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Exploiting entanglementExample teleportation
of spins across a chip

• 2 dots quantum algorithms
• 3 dots q. error correction, teleportation

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Protecting entanglementControl of the nuclear
spin environment
Decoherence source is well understood !
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Quiet devicesQuantum dots in zero-spin host
materials (2D)
Si/SiGe(5 28Si)
Graphene(1 13C)
50 mm
U. Linz
TU Delft
Holes in GaAs(p-orbitals, small overlap with
nuclei)
UNSW
U. Wisconsin
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Summary
Core program to manipulate, detect, and exploit
entanglement of individual spins on a chip
Control (normally uncontrolled)
environment Explore zero-spin host materials