The first Optologic’s general assembly was held on the past 13th of April. Members gathered to share the advancements of the project.

The project coordinator and ICREA Prof. at ICFO Jens Biegert summarized the state of the first work package related to photo-induced topology. Moreover, Prof. Ralph Ernstorfer, a researcher from the Fritz-Haber Institute group, went through the state of their research on the orbital texture in TMDCs. Similarly, Professor Misha Ivanov, from MBI, also updated the situation on the second work package, where researchers will engineer multi-topological states. He went over their group’s recent study on light-induced valley asymmetry in graphene.

Charidimos Chaintoutis, the R&D Project Coordinator at LightOn, explained the advancements on the third work package, which aims to implement logic operations in topologically protected structures. They will take advantage of the research done in the first two work packages to build the actual hardware, expecting the first prototype in a few weeks.

Prof. Dr. Hamed Merdji from CEA stated their aim to investigate what kind of mathematical tool they will need to develop, set the laser system, and expect to create synergies with the rest of the partners.

Finally, ICFO project manager Núria Charles-Harris meticulously explained the administrative and financial processes of the project, gently reminding the partners about the most relevant procedures, timelines, and milestones. Additionally, Alina Hirschmann, a seasoned science communication officer at ICFO, eloquently provided an insightful overview of the website and presented the comprehensive communication plan, elucidating the main ideas and actions meticulously planned for the entire project duration.

Researchers also went through some of their latest publications. So far, the consortium members have published more than ten publications in peer-reviewed journals and have several in preprint. This is a remarkable achievement, considering that the project has been ongoing for about six months.