Communication networks that use the quantum properties of photons and matter for transferring data are fundamentally more secure than traditional networks and will become indispensable in the coming era of quantum information processing. The fundamental building block for such a quantum network is a node where flying photonic qubits and stationary matter qubits can exchange information efficiently and with high fidelity. While multiple prospective platforms exist, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) stand out owing to their optical properties: they are the brightest and most coherent quantum emitters in the solid-state. Remarkable improvements of electronic- and nuclear-spin coherence in QDs recently put forward by the applicants have further strengthened the case for placing this system as the focus of a concerted effort towards a device capable of a full hardware stack demonstration. We propose to combine the expertise of multiple research groups with complementary skills and foci to achieve an all-in-one device delivery: a semiconductor QD system capable of producing entanglement between a matter qubit and a photonic qubit and storing this information with 90% fidelity for 100 milliseconds, a 105 improvement over previous QD-based results. We will deliver this with tailored and theory-guided QD growth and post-growth control to optimise optical and spin properties, which we will verify in spectroscopic measurements. We will integrate such a QD device with (1) a strain-engineering platform - allowing tuning of the interaction between an electron spin qubit and a nuclear register; (2) an optical micro-cavity - allowing efficient photon coupling; and (3) radiofrequency antennas - allowing dynamical decoupling of the nuclear spin register for 100 ms. Each academic member of our consortium has produced multiple results on the above foundational elements either separately or within bi-/tri-lateral informal collaborations; this project will provide the resources to bring members together and leverage their existing resources to produce a unique and highly impactful quantum device demonstration. An industrial partner, with expertise on wafer-scale heterogeneous integration, will contribute to the development of scalable fabrication processes. MEEDGARD's success would have direct ramifications for future investment in semiconductor-based quantum networking.

This project explores the psychology of antisemitic misinformation. Antisemitism manifests in conspiracy theories and misinformed beliefs about Jews across the political spectrum, including conspiracy theories of a secret and subversive Jewish domination (more typically on the right) and the blaming of all (or a majority of) Jews for Israeli government policies on the left. The project will apply the Gateway Belief Model (GBM) and inoculation theory to this type of misinformation. GBM suggests that people's beliefs are influenced by the degree to which they perceive there to be a consensus among experts on an issue - e.g., the scientific consensus that human activities are the primary cause for global warming currently. Inoculation theory proposes that preemptive exposure to weak arguments used to propagate misinformation strengthens resistance to misinformation, akin to a vaccine. While both these theories have shown promise in combating misinformation in other areas, they have not yet been applied to a prejudice such as antisemitism. Experiments will be conducted in which a method called Reverse Gateway Belief Model (R-GBM), which presents false consensus messaging (e.g. "95% of historians agree that Jews have historically exercised significant control over European politics), will be used on participants to help identify the type of misinformation that leads to antisemitic attitudes. This will be done by assessing its impact on participants' scores on validated scales for measuring different types of antisemitism. In other experimental groups, inoculation messaging will be used, involving a preemptive exposure to weak argumentation for antisemitic ideas. I hypothesise that R-GBM exposure will increase scores on these scales, while inoculation messages will decrease them. Political ideology will be measured and included as a factor that potentially mediates the impact of the R-GBM and Inoculation on levels of antisemitism. For example, given the above-mentioned distinctions in the types of antisemitism more prevalent across the political spectrum, I expect that inoculating against Israel-related antisemitism will have a bigger impact on individuals identifying themselves as more left-wing, while inoculating against notions of Jewish domination may have a stronger impact on right-wing individuals. Another potential mediating factor I will assess is competitive victimhood, which refers to a tendency to believe one's own group has suffered more than an outgroup. This has been found to fuel antisemitism among minorities, e.g. through the belief that an emphasis on the Holocaust prevents a recognition of other historical cases of oppression. To test this, the study will sample minority groups and measure their sense of their group's victimhood using established measures. Using R-GBM and inoculation again, one experimental group will be presented with R-GBM messaging including such as "Historians unanimously agree that, despite the disproportionate focus on the Holocaust, Jews have not suffered much in history relative to other groups", while an inoculation condition may pair a weak version of this argument with an example of Jewish participation in the civil rights movements of other historically persecuted groups. The hypothesis is that those with high levels of competitive victimhood will show increased antisemitism following R-GBM exposure and decreased antisemitism following inoculation. Overall, this project aims to pair the existing work on misinformation with that on the psychology of antisemitism, using GBM and inoculation theory to better understand antisemitic misinformation and its psychological determinants. This could offer potential practical interventions that better target the misinformation underlying antisemitism, and may enhance our understanding of the interplay between the psychological processes affecting both misinformation belief and prejudice (in this case against Jews).

My project intends to queer the history of masculinity and masculine dress in early modern history. There is evidence for a significant number of female sex workers wearing masculine attire in early modern Italy. However, there is yet to be a study that investigates the forms that this masculine expression took and women's motivations for gender nonconformity. My aim is to fill this gap in the scholarship, and to explore the following questions. Did sex workers choose masculine attire for only professional reasons (to attract homosexual male clients, as authorities worried), or as an expression of identity? By extension, is there a queer and/or trans history to be brought to light here? What can sartorial expression tell us about the permeability of gender boundaries in early modern, pre-Enlightenment Europe? I intend to use a combination of syphilis hospital records, court records, popular pamphlets and travel writing as source material. Syphilis hospitals recorded detailed notes on patients' attire. Since sex workers were particularly afflicted, an exploration of syphilis hospital records from across Italy could provide insight into how common it was for female sex workers to wear masculine attire, what kinds of garments were worn, and their materiality. Court record accounts will be useful for uncovering sex workers' motivations for cross-dressing. Travel writing, popular pamphlets and publications will provide evidence of sartorial expression embedded in urban space.

National Highways (NH) has set up a strategic vision to modernise the maintenance, development, and operation of the Strategic Road Network (SRN). This goal, outlined in the SRN Initial Report has specific targets for leveraging digital technologies to improve (1) safety in the SRN, (2) environmental sustainability of the SRN, and (3) SRN operation and maintenance. The studentship will (a) derive local and national stakeholders' user and information requirements, and DT scoring metrics; and (b) create a framework for automatically generating a pareto-optimal front of trustworthy information models, libraries, and cloud architectures consistent with CDBB's Information Management Framework, (i) at micro, meso and macro scales and resolutions; (i1) for geometry, condition, and other property groups; and (iii) for product, process, and resource information. This is to enable i) productisation; (ii) interoperability with the National DT programme; (ini) information security; (iv) futureproofing; and (v) information curation. Handcrafted digital twin (DT) representations of assets and of their associated defects, processes and resources are appearing in the market at an increasing rate. However, designing such DTs in an automated fashion is an under constrained problem with millions of correct solutions. This raises several key research questions: What is a good framework for automating DT design? Which one of the solutions generated by the framework is the best one, and what does 'best' mean in this setting? How might we auto-generate such design possibilities? How should we evaluate the resulting solutions, and what would be the baseline for such an evaluation?

TBC