Two Researchers of KIT Receive ERC Advanced Grants

European Research Council (ERC) selects Holger Puchta and Wolfgang Wernsdorfer for funding through an ERC Advanced Grant.

Professor Holger Puchta is awarded his second ERC Advanced Grant. (Photo: Manuel Balzer, KIT)

Wolfgang Wernsdorfer is Humboldt Professor at KIT. (Photo: Sandra Göttisheim, KIT)

For the second time in succession, molecular biologist Professor Holger Puchta of KIT is awarded the renowned ERC Advanced Grant by the European Research Council for his research using molecular scissors in plants. The now funded CRISBREED project covers the simultaneous use of several molecular scissors, so-called CRISPR/Cas systems, to specifically modify genetic information and newly combine certain traits in crops.

More: Press Release 046/2017 "Plants with Custom-fit Combined Traits"

Experimental physicist Professor Wolfgang Wernsdorfer of KIT was selected by the European Research Council for funding with an ERC Advanced Grant for his project “Molecular Quantum Opto-Spintronics” (MoQuOS). MoQuOS covers optical manipulation and characterization of molecular quantum bits. Within the framework of MoQuOS, Wernsdorfer, who has been holding an Alexander von Humboldt professorship since 2016, plans to develop together with his team rapid and reliable methods to read out spin states of individual magnetic molecules for quantum information processing.

More: Press Release 047/2017 "Optics Advance Quantum Information Processing"

or, 07.04.2017