Research Ireland Pathway Programme Awards

25 Jun 2025

Congratulations to Dr. Jing Li and Dr. Anthony Kiely who are two of six researchers awarded funding under the Research Ireland Pathway Programme 2024 awards announced today by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD.

The Research Ireland Pathway Programme supports early-career research across all disciplines and to encourage a cohesive research ecosystem in Ireland. The awards will enable UCC postdoctoral researchers to develop their career pathway and transition to become independent research leaders.

The funding, covering a four-year period, will support researchers and provide resources to establish independent research careers. This targeted investment will provide each project with additional support for a postgraduate student who will be primarily supervised by the awardees.

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Dr Jing Li, School of Physics
Project title: Quantum Control of interacting ultracold atoms for Heat Engines (QCAHE)
Funding amount: €568,170

Just as car engines convert fuel into motion, quantum heat engines aim to transform heat into energy using the unique properties of atoms cooled to near absolute zero. This project investigates how tiny interactions between these ultra-cold atoms – manipulated by lasers and magnetic fields - can boost the efficiency of quantum engines. By developing advanced numerical models of interacting ultracold atoms, we will uncover how quantum entanglement and controlled atomic collisions can optimize heat-to-work conversion at microscopic scales. This theoretical framework will guide future experimental implementations while advancing Ireland’s strategic capacity in quantum energy technologies.

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Dr Anthony Kiely, School of Physics
Project title: Active Quantum Closed Loop Control (AQUACLOC)
Funding amount: €628,228

Quantum effects can typically only be observed on physical scales of length and time outside of our everyday experience. Recent improvements in experimental control have opened avenues to harness these strange quantum mechanical effects for many new technologies. These devices need to be carefully controlled. Feedback control (where the control applied is determined by some measured outcomes) is an essential ingredient of many modern technologies, e.g., household thermostats, cruise control in cars and pacemakers. AQUACLOC will derive new equations to model this in quantum systems, where continuous monitoring and feedback creates complex dynamics, and create new feedback control strategies.

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Well done to Anthony, Jing and all 4 other researchers! 

*Photo/Text Credit: UCC Research