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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
In the latest round of applications for the prestigious ERC Advanced Grants, two researchers from the University of Stuttgart impressed the European Research Council. Prof. Laura Na Liu is conducting cutting-edge research using advanced DNA nanotechnology. Professor Blazej Grabowski is optimizing simulation methods for materials design.
Prof. Laura Na Liu, head of the 2nd Physics Institute of the University of Stuttgart, and Prof. Blazej Grabowski, head of the Department of Materials Design at the Institute for Materials Science of the University of Stuttgart, have each been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million by the European Research Council (ERC) for their respective projects. ERC Advanced Grants are among the most prestigious research awards worldwide and are aimed at established researchers with an outstanding scientific track record.
With the ERC Advanced Grant project “META-LEARN”, Blazej Grabowski aims to optimize the development of simulation methods for materials design. To achieve this, he combines quantum-based methods with concepts from machine learning.
With the support of the ERC Advanced Grant, Laura Na Liu and her team are set to explore uncharted territory in nanotechnology. Their ambitious project, “Engineered DNA Moiré Superlattices (DMoS)”, aims to harness the unique properties of DNA to engineer novel moiré materials, opening new frontiers in spintronics, nanophotonics, and beyond.
Prof. Peter Middendorf, Rector of the University of Stuttgart, is delighted about the twofold success: “Professor Laura Na Liu and Professor Blazej Grabowski are setting new standards with their research. I warmly congratulate both of them on this well-deserved recognition from the European Research Council! These grants underscore the high scientific standard and innovative strength that define our university. They also highlight the international impact of our strategic profile areas: Biomedical Systems and Robotics for Health, Quantum Technologies, and Simulation Science.”
Blazej Grabowski: “META-LEARN - Meta-Learned Machine-Learning Interatomic Potentials for Ab initio Engineering of Chemical and Microstructural Complexity”
Whether it’s a high-performance turbine resistant to heat and corrosion, a flame-retardant battery, or an efficient hydrogen storage system, targeted materials design can greatly enhance product performance, safety, and lifespan. However, developing materials with specific desired properties requires a precise understanding of their complex chemical composition and microstructure. To gain this understanding, modern materials designers rely not only on experiments but also on quantum-based computer simulations.
In recent years, the use of machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs), mathematical models that describe interactions between atoms, has markedly increased the precision and flexibility of these simulations. Instead of relying solely on rigid formulas, they also draw on machine learning methods. “MLIPs could revolutionize materials design - if we learn how to fully harness their potential,” says Blazej Grabowski.
Making complexity manageable
“Atomic material structures are highly complex. Developing MLIPs is therefore extremely demanding. The aim of the META-LEARN project is to provide MLIP developers with a tool that makes this complexity manageable.” As part of his new five-year ERC Advanced Grant project, Grabowski is working on a meta level. Together with a team of seven early-career researchers, he will compile existing MLIP algorithms, parameters, training data, and training sequences into a comprehensive database. Building on this, the team aims to develop a knowledge graph that will serve as the foundation for the “MLIP Co-Pilot”, an AI-powered tool designed to support the parameterization of MLIPs. “The MLIP Co-Pilot supports developers in real time by recommending optimal parameters for machine-learned potentials using the combined expertise of numerous successful simulations,” says Grabowski.
META-LEARN builds on Grabowski’s earlier work. As part of an ERC Starting Grant and an ERC Consolidator Grant, his research group demonstrated the potential of generating and working with MLIPs.
Laura Na Liu: “Engineered DNA Moiré Superlattices (DMoS)”
Laura Na Liu`s project lies at the forefront of DNA nanotechnology - a research field that harnesses DNA as a programmable material for building functional structures or devices. “The DMoS project will push the boundaries of DNA nanotechnology, unlocking an entirely new cosmos of research and applications,” says Laura Na Liu. Over the next five years, she and her interdisciplinary team will pursue an ambitious scientific vision: constructing novel classes of moiré materials entirely from DNA.
Moiré patterns emerge when two-dimensional periodic materials, such as graphene, are overlaid with a slight twist. While these interference effects are well-known in nature and technology, they typically involve lattice constants either at the atomic scale (angstrom level) or at much larger dimensions (submicron and beyond). The DMoS project seeks to bridge this gap by engineering moiré superlattices in the critical nanometer regime, where molecular programmability meets material functionality. “Moiré patterning at this intermediate scale remains largely unexplored,” says Liu. “Precisely controlling structures in this several-nanometer range has the potential to revolutionize how we design functional materials.”
Pioneering DNA Moiré Materials to Shape the Future of Nanotechnology
By leveraging DNA’s unparalleled programmability, the team will construct customizable moiré architectures to investigate two transformative fields: spintronics, which explores the manipulation and control of electron spin for future quantum and spin-based devices; and nanophotonics, which focuses on controlling light-matter interactions at the nanoscale for advanced optical functionalities.
“Programmable DNA moiré superlattices will allow us to explore how engineered geometries modulate spin dynamics and nanoscale optical phenomena,” explains Liu. Her prior breakthroughs in DNA nanotechnology have laid the foundation for realizing this novel material paradigm.
The ERC-funded research could ultimately yield unprecedented control over quantum and optical phenomena, paving the way for innovative nanodevices with applications across science and technology.
Personal details
Physicist Blazej Grabowski earned his doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research (now: Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials) in Düsseldorf and the University of Paderborn. He worked as a postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and later as a group leader at the Max Planck Institute in Düsseldorf. In 2019, he was appointed professor at the Institute of Materials Science at the University of Stuttgart, where he now heads the Department of Materials Design. In 2015, he received an ERC Starting Grant and in 2019, an ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council.
Laura Na Liu earned her doctorate in Physics from the University of Stuttgart. After academic appointments at the University of California, Berkeley, and Rice University in Texas, she became a full professor at the University of Heidelberg in 2015. In 2020, she joined the University of Stuttgart as Director of the 2nd Institute of Physics. Among her many honors and fellowships are the Adolph Lomb Medal (OSA), Max Planck Fellow (MPG), and the EU-40 Materials Prize (E-MRS). In 2014, she received an ERC Starting Grant.
Prof. Blazej Grabowski, University of Stuttgart, Institute of Materials Science, Department of Materials Design, tel.: +49 711 685-61555, email: blazej.grabowski@imw.uni-stuttgart.de
Prof. Laura Na Liu, University of Stuttgart, 2nd Physics Institute, tel.: +49 711 685-65218, email: na.liu@pi2.uni-stuttgart.de
https://www.uni-stuttgart.de/en/university/news/all/ERC-Advanced-Grants-Success-...
https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/erc-2024-advanced-grants-results
https://www.uni-stuttgart.de/en/research/research-awards/
Professor Blazej Grabowski optimizes the development of simulation methods for materials design.
Source: Max Kovalenko
Copyright: University of Stuttgart
Prof. Laura Na Liu is conducting cutting-edge research using advanced DNA nanotechnology.
Source: Max Kovalenko
Copyright: University of Stuttgart
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Professor Blazej Grabowski optimizes the development of simulation methods for materials design.
Source: Max Kovalenko
Copyright: University of Stuttgart
Prof. Laura Na Liu is conducting cutting-edge research using advanced DNA nanotechnology.
Source: Max Kovalenko
Copyright: University of Stuttgart
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