Statistical physics, biophysics, astroparticle physics and data science. These are the research fields of the young researchers who will spend two years at SISSA thanks to the funding programme of the European Commision’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). They are Francesco Cagnetta, Antonia Micol Frassino, Lata Kharkwal Joshi and Olivier Languin-Cattoen who have arrived, or will arrive, in Trieste after periods of study and work in other European states. Each of them received a grant of around 175,000 euros to do research and learn new skills.
Overall, 1,249 post-doctoral researchers were selected for funding among 8,039 (15.8%) applicants during the last call for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) postdoctoral fellowships. In particular, four of the five candidates (80%) who had chosen SISSA as host institution and one of the School’s professor as supervisor were awarded. Thus, once again, SISSA confirms its ability to attract talents from abroad, guaranteeing a positive environment for research and professional growth.
The four fellowships
Lata Kharkwal Joshi joined SISSA after a period at Innsbruck University and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Through her project ETHOQS - Entanglement as a tool in holography and quantum simulators, started last May, she is studying many-body complex quantum systems, holographic systems and their connections to quantum simulations, taking also advantage of the collaboration with experimental teams
Olivier Languin-Cattoen has already joined the School too, after a PhD at the Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique (IBPC) in Paris. Starting in December, his project RNA-diffusion - RNA Dynamics prediction with Diffusion Models will apply deep learning approaches to investigate RNA dynamics. His method could be used as a replacement to established techniques which are voracious both in human time and energy expense, hence accelerating biophysical research and decreasing its carbon footprint.
Deep learning will also be at the focus of Francesco Cagnetta’s project CORal - Correlations-Oriented Representation Learning. Moving from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) next October, Cagnetta will investigate the inner workings of deep learning methods through an effective mix of numerical experiments and rigorous arguments, thus enhancing our general understanding of such approaches as well as their interpretability and efficiency.
Antonia Micol Fassino from the University of Alcalà and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences in Barcelona will also join SISSA in October. Her project, FCORT - Fusion of Compact Objects by Ray Tracing: Gravitational wave observables from the time evolution of the event horizon in extreme mass ratio mergers, is a cutting-edge exploration of the dynamics of black hole collisions in general relativity and in modified gravity theories.
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fund excellent research and innovation and equip researchers at all stages of their career with new knowledge and skills, through mobility across borders and exposure to different sectors and disciplines. The Postdoctoral Fellowships action targets researchers holding a PhD who wish to carry out their research activities abroad, acquire new skills and develop their careers, even in non-academic sectors.
A new call is open and will close on 11 September 2024.