We congratulate Simon Stellmer on receiving an ERC Proof of Concept Grant! Together with his team, Prof. Stellmer from the University of Bonn is studying how measurement devices that are already unbelievably accurate can be improved further. In the “GyroRevolution” ERC project, for which he now secured funding, he will develop extremely precise rotation sensors, called gyroscopes. These gyroscopes are based on a ring laser and measure rotation rates with a resolution that corresponds to only one 360-degree rotation in 200.000 years. In geodesy, such devices are used to record variations in the rotation of Earth, and to detect earthquakes. Ringlaser gyroscopes can also be employed to track the shaking of large-scale structures, such as highway bridges. These sensors will now be improved and prepared for operation outside of a quantum optics lab.
Grants by the European Research Council are among the most prestigious in all of fundamental science. The Proof of Concept grants support the commercialization of research outcomes the early stages.
More information can be found in the press release by the University of Bonn.
