Gender Balance Meeting of COST Action MP1403 “Nanoscale Quantum Optics”on July 2nd
The Gender Balance meeting took place on July 2nd in Florence and focused on the concept of Unconscious Bias. The meeting was opened with an Introduction to Gender Balance in the COST Action NQO Action by Vice Chair, Irene D’Amico from United Kingdom. Followed by an remarkable presentation on Issues around Gender Equality in the Sciences by the invited speaker Paul Walton from the United Kingdom. The Questions and Answers Session was lead by invited Alessandra Petrucci (Italy) and Irene D’Amico. Discussions about next Steps within the Action and Contributions from Participants rounded up the successful first day of the meeting.Please find here a more detailed Meeting Agenda .
WG3 Meeting of COST Action MP1403 “Nanoscale Quantum Optics” on July 3rd
The Chair Mario Agio briefly introduced the COST Association and the COST Action MP1403 to the participants, followed by a short presentation by the WG3 Leader Thomas Durt about the scientific focus of WG3 according to the MoU. Next, the participants listen and discuss the presentation of four speakers: Quantum Coherence and Light Harvesting by Niek van Hulst (ICFO), Quantum Coherence and Design Principles of Solar Harvesting by Greg Engel (University of Chicago), Superfluid Optomechanics by Warwick Bowen (University of Queensland), Quantum Technology based on Spins in Semiconductors by Lloyd Hollenberg (University of Melbourne).
Wrap-Up Discussion
The participants meet to summarize and discuss how to facilitate collaborative activities within WG3. The scientific presentations – all of very high quality and inspiring – fit ideally within the topics of WG3 and represent the state of the art in the field. The participants propose a matrix structure for the activities of WG3, which will be suggested also for the other WGs. Such structure combines the WG topics with the expertise and specificities required to tackle them. It is believed the COST members will find more easily their role in each WG and thus initiate collaborative activities, including research proposals.
