The INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory and the University of Minho (UM) have joined forces to create a joint laboratory. The Quanta Lab is devoted to research and training on Quantum Materials and Quantum Technologies, two cutting edge research areas that address several of the most important and fundamental questions in Materials Science and Condensed Matter Physics, and hold the promise of a new wave of technological innovations that is known as the second quantum revolution.
The creation of the new centre was officially announced July 1, 2016. The Director General of INL, Lars Montelius, and the Rector of the University of Minho, António Cunha, signed the agreement in a ceremony presided over by the Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor.
On the occasion the German physicist Prof. Jorg Wrachtrup (University of Stuttgart) delivered a colloquium on the topic “Quantum sensors: From basic science to prototypes”. Joaquín Fernández-Rossier (INL) and Nuno M. R. Peres (U. Minho), leaders of the project, also delivered a short speech highlighting the importance of quantum materials and quantum technologies, and the advantages of bringing together INL and UM to do collaborative research in these areas.
