FERMI Involved in CONCERT, an ERC Synergy Grant Project Worth €10 Million

Understanding and steering molecular transformations with light — this is the goal of CONCERT (Capturing and cONtrolling coniCal intErsections in Real Time), winner of a €10 million ERC Synergy Grant. The project brings together researchers from Politecnico di Milano, CNR, University of Bologna, University of California, and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, where part of the experiments will be conducted using the FERMI free-electron laser.

Led by Giulio Cerullo (Politecnico di Milano), Caterina Vozzi (CNR), Marco Garavelli (University of Bologna), and Shaul Mukamel (University of California), CONCERT aims to “film” molecules as they change shape under the effect of light, to uncover the quantum mechanisms driving photochemical reactions.

“FERMI offers a unique tool to observe the dynamics of light-excited molecules,” explains Caterina Vozzi. “The collaboration with Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste will be crucial to push molecular spectroscopy towards a new frontier: the quantum control of reactions.”