QU-ATTO Second Network Meeting

 

On January 19, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste hosted the Second Annual Meeting of the QU-ATTO Doctoral Network, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Training Network funded under the Horizon Europe Programme.
The main objective of the Network is to provide the Doctoral Candidates with a multifaceted scientific training that enhances their practical and theoretical understanding of the research field at the border between quantum information and attosecond science.

The first Meeting took place remotely, at the inception of the project, and this year’s Meeting represented the first opportunity for all Doctoral Candidates (and their Supervisors) to meet in person, introduce themselves and their research project, discuss the current status of the Network progress, provide and receive feedback. In particular, the Network Coordinator, Professor Giuseppe Sansone (University of Freiburg) delivered an official Progress Report covering all aspects of the project (scientific, outreach, training, management).

The Meeting welcomed 25 participants in-presence and 11 more attending remotely, with a very even gender balance. Their affiliations cover prestigious European institutions in the field of attosecond science, including Freiburg University, Max-Born Institute, CEA, ICFO, FORTH, Autonomous University of Madrid, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, as well as partners from the private sector.

Among the topics being discussed, special focus was given to:
- the video tutorials produced by the project and publicly posted on its social channels. Two of them were delivered by 2023 Physics Nobel laureate Professor Anne L’Huillier.
- the School in communication skills and public engagement, linked to this Meeting, which just took place at the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci” in Milan
- the results of four recent beamtimes at the FERMI Low Density Matter beamline, which took place in September/October 2025, and the many proposals submitted for further experiments.

While several Doctoral Candidates and Supervisors already have hands-on experience about beamtimes at FERMI, the extensive visit to the FERMI Free Electron Laser facility that was included in the program was the first such opportunity for many participants.

QU-ATTO has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101168628.