BGU Selected As Part of $30 Million Physics Grant
BGU Selected As Part of $30 Million Physics Grant
January 4, 2024
Current events, Nanotechnology, Research News
Ben-Gurion University Department of Physics, Prof. Ron Folman
Jewish News Syndicate — BGU Prof. Ron Folman was selected as one of 11 researchers to receive a collective fund totaling $30 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation to fund innovative “tabletop” experiments, many of which will explore realms of physics typically probed by large-scale facilities.
His research will receive $2.6 million from the fund and lead the development of a nanodiamond spatial interferometer to help resolve the disconnect between quantum physics and Einstein’s theory of relativity by performing spin-based interferometry measurements.
Folman, who has spent the past 20 years trying to find the connection between the general theory of relativity (gravity) and quantum mechanics, said that “these two pillars have been tested by numerous experiments throughout the last century and have been found to be accurate. The problem now is that in order to have a true understanding of nature, we need to understand how these two pillars work together.”
At Ben-Gurion University, Folman is head of the Atom Chip Laboratory, the Ruth Flinkman-Marandy and Ben Marandy Chair in Quantum Physics and Nanotechnology, as well as founder of the Weiss Family Laboratory for Nanoscale Systems.
“Professor Folman’s selection as part of such an esteemed fund is testament to Ben-Gurion University’s renowned multi-disciplinary research efforts, which fuel Israeli innovation and enhance our understanding of the world—and in this case, the universe—as we know it,” said Doug Seserman, CEO of Americans for Ben-Gurion University.
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