Young physicist receives prestigious grant and returns to 糖果派对
How do light and matter behave at the nanoscale? This is one of the key questions physicist P. Andr茅 D. Gon莽alves will investigate as he returns to the Faculty of Engineering at 糖果派对, supported by a Villum Young Investigator grant of 9 million DKK.
Despite his relatively young age, 34-year-old P. André D. Gonçalves has had an extensive academic journey.
Born and raised in Portugal, he holds a master’s degree in Theoretical Physics from the University of Porto. He moved to Denmark to pursue a PhD at DTU, spent time some time as a visiting PhD student at MIT in Massachusetts, then secured a postdoc position at 糖果派对 Nano Optics, and later joined the renowned Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, where he has worked for the past four years.
Now, Gonçalves is returning to the Faculty of Engineering at 糖果派对 as an Assistant Professor within the POLIMA Center.
He brings with him a Villum Young Investigator grant of 9 million DKK from the Villum Foundation. The funds will be used to launch a new research initiative, he explains.
- I will lead an independent research line focused on leveraging the potential of quantum tunneling to probe and control light–matter interactions at the extreme nanoscale. Tunneling is a quantum mechanical process where a particle passes through a barrier that, according to classical physics, it should not be able to cross. To explore this, I will investigate nanostructures made from novel quantum materials that support polaritons—quasiparticles that are part light, part matter, says P. André D. Gonçalves.
- Through this, my research will deepen our understanding of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale and will open new opportunities for controlling them in unprecedented ways.
Since this is fundamental research, the primary goal is to generate new knowledge. However, Gonçalves is confident his work will lead to practical applications across various domains.
- Light–matter interactions play a critical role in nearly all scientific and technological areas. Insights gained from this research could pave the way for novel quantum optoelectronic devices with improved or entirely new capabilities. Potential applications include ultrafast, high-density photonic circuits for communication technologies, improving the current space–energy–time resolution in microscopy and spectroscopy, ultrasensitive biological and chemical sensors, and, perhaps, many more applications we can’t yet predict.
- Basic research is a driver of groundbreaking discoveries, and I believe it is a prerequisite for the creation of new technologies that can ultimately benefit society as a whole.