Prof. Kjetil Børkje, Department of Science and Industry systems, was invited into the winning consortium with members from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
As a result of networking at conferences and publishing regularly in the same research journals the consortia were familiar with Kjetil and his work. The research group consists of only two permanent faculty members, but they will soon double the amount of members.
"Quantum Technology is a hot topic, and we are happy to be joining this important research project", tells Prof. Kjetil Børkje.
QT is recognised by the Research Council of Norway as one of the active Quantum Technology groups in Norway. The QT group have experience in modeling of experiments and measurements in quantum optics and optomechanics, with applications for e.g. sensing and metrology.
They also have research interests in quantum information technology and the foundations of quantum mechanics. QT is a member of the EU funded COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Network Quantum technologies in space.
QT are active in their pursuit of external funding to secure further expansion and aim to have PhD students in the group soon.
"This eager, dynamic and international group would provide the perfect environment for PhD candidates. The QuantERA funded QuaSeRT (Optomechanical quantum sensors at room temperature) project buys time for carrying out cutting edge research, having enough research time is often a challenge otherwise", explains Kjetil.
It also provides funds for travelling and not least, the opportunity to cooperate with some of the brightest minds in Europe.
The evaluators described this project as ambitious and ground-breaking and emphasized the bringing together of many leading experts in quantum optomechanics in Europe. USN were the only Norwegian research environment funded through QuantERA in the last call.