Global News

The University of Chicago-CNRS International Research Center for Fundamental Scientific Discovery (IRC Discovery) recently awarded seven PhD Joint Program grants to its sixth cohort of awardees. With strong representation from a wide range of disciplines, this year’s awarded projects focus on topics ranging from quantum technologies and miniaturized solid-state batteries to epistemic vigilance in online communication.

Juan de Pablo, Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives, stated, “These seven collaborative research projects demonstrate the vitality, scope and diversity of the work undertaken by the University of Chicago and CNRS through IRC Discovery. Congratulations to the awardees and to the students who will be pursuing this vital research.” 

Inaugurated in 2019, the PhD Joint Program represents one of the cornerstones of the dynamic relationship between the University of Chicago and the French National Center for Scientific Research (the CNRS), the largest fundamental science research agency in Europe. The program is designed to support three-year collaborative research projects conducted by scholars with the participation of students from UChicago and French universities.

This program creates opportunities for the advancement of groundbreaking and innovative cross-disciplinary projects and fosters collaborations between outstanding scholars across borders. Under the supervision of two researchers, one from UChicago and one from the CNRS, the program also helps PhD students gain experience in leading international research projects and enhance their scholarly training in preparation for their future academic careers.

Projects from previous cohorts have already spurred impactful developments in myriad scientific disciplines, including methods for removing toxic chemicals from public water sources, computational models to analyze early human bone structure, and potential technologies to restore sensation in mastectomy patients.

Click the titles below for descriptions of the newly awarded projects:

• The effects of subcortical neural encoding on second language phonetic learning
• Multiscale biophysical characterization of the Campylobacter flagellar system
• Novel Radical Cyclization Cascades for the Total Synthesis of Sclerocitrin
• Physics and potential for quantum technologies of KTaO3 two-dimensional electron gases
• Powering future on-board quantum technologies with high energy density solid-state batteries (Q-Batt)
• Uncovering the Physics at the Horizon: Tidal Deformability and Symmetries of Black Holes
• Veridicality, rhetorical tropes, and epistemic vigilance in on-line communication: semantic and pragmatic underpinnings