Out of the 1235 projects awarded in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions MSCA-2022 call, a mere 2.2% found recognition under the Mathematics panel, amounting to a total of only 27 proposals. This stringent selection process emphasizes the outstanding quality of the projects funded.
Despite MSCA fellowships being among the most prestigious and competitive grants in Europe, the University of Luxembourg’s Department of Mathematics (DMATH) has been awarded three MSCA postdoctoral fellowships. They represent a significant fraction of the 27 projects granted within the mathematics panel, an outstanding accomplishment considering the high selectivity of the grant. Further of note, the three postdoctoral researchers: Alexey Balitskiy, Kate Vokes, and Tommaso Cremaschi, are specialised in geometry, an additional testament to the high-quality research performed in that field at DMATH.
Dr Vokes chose University of Luxembourg to work on low-dimensional topology and geometric group theory: “The University of Luxembourg is a great place for me to carry out my postdoctoral research because Professor Hugo Parlier is an expert in my field. We have a large and active geometry group with many early career researchers, which makes this a stimulating research environment.”
Dr Balitskiy shared an interesting perspective on his field: “A random fun fact about one of my fields of interest: I work in some kind of geometry that was famously applied to quantum error correction codes around 25 years ago. These codes are something that we need in order to create stable quantum computers (more rigorously, fault-tolerant quantum computing). Since then, things have changed and now quantum codes help geometers to find new examples of peculiar behaviours of geometric spaces. One big name in the field is the Fields laureate Mike Freedman.” This insight not only highlights the dynamic nature of geometry but also its central role in a variety of scientific disciplines.
Apart from excellence being the crucial principle of MSCA proposals, mobility of applicants is extremely encouraged and supported. Researchers from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Luxembourg will foster collaboration activities with other academic entities: University of Nottingham, Freie Universität Berlin, and Institut Gaspard Monge.
These fellowships represent an exciting opportunity for the awardees to further their academic careers and make a lasting impact in the field of mathematics and geometry, as Dr Cremaschi said: “The travel money and prestige will help me further my research agenda and put on a stronger application.”.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all three awardees and wish them great success with their research projects.
To learn more about the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, visit https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/postdoctoral-fellowships .