IDC Herzliya congratulates Professor Gil Kalai, senior lecturer and researcher at the Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, for winning the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant which is part of Horizon 2020 — the biggest R&D initiative of the EU. Professor Kalai’s research deals with the development of different methods such as noise sensitivity and stability in mathematical and stochastic systems and models, and discovering of uses and connections in the doctrines of probability, combinatorics and computer science. The purpose of this research will be to develop Prof. Kalai’s thesis that quantum computers are destined for failure because of their noise sensitivity, while analyzing the mathematical, physical & arithmetical implications.
With a budget of over 80 million Euros, and a selective application process, only the most exceptional and pioneering researchers have a chance of participating in the ERC. The program is divided into three different tracks according to the level of the researcher’s seniority. This year the Advanced Grant track had a tough competition: among the 2,500 applicants, 222 were chosen to receive funding, 10 of which came from leading institutions in Israel. So far, the IDC researchers have won the ERC several times within the Starting Grant track, in the fields of psychology and computer science.