Led by Dr. Mathias Boström at the Ensemble3 Centre of Excellence in Poland (with Dr. Oleksandr I. Malyi as mentor and leader of the Inverse Materials Design group), ACT:MEE tackles the long-standing theoretical challenges of the Casimir effect in plasma-based and magnetized media and its diverse applications. The core objective is to develop a new semiclassical framework for the finite lifetime of electron–positron plasmons and for electron (positron)–plasmon bound states. This work directly opens a path toward a semiclassical description of mesons and nuclear forces. The project team included 10 members working over the period of two years on different aspects of the project. The Ensemble3 Centre of Excellence provides state-of-the-art infrastructure and a strongly supportive environment for fundamental and applied theoretical physics, making it an ideal host for this ambitious program at the intersection of quantum field theory, condensed-matter, and plasma physics. For more details, please visit the project page.

The project FUNDAMeNT, led by the LENS research group at UiO under Prof. Bengt Svensson, focused on utilizing defects in semiconductors for advanced functionalities. Key goals included developing single-photon sources to explore quantum phenomena, improving energy efficiency in wide band gap semiconductors for lighting and electronics, and innovating nanotechnology through defect-functionalized nanostructures. The project, emphasizing energy-related applications, collaborated internationally and encompassed activities from material growth to device prototyping. Svensson, a renowned physicist, led a diverse team with extensive experience and publications. The group, recognized for its international leadership, heavily utilized national research infrastructures and maintained strong international ties. Team members brought expertise in various aspects of semiconductor physics, contributing significantly to the field. The application team included Prof. Andrej Kuznetsov, Prof. Eduard Monakhov, Prof. Clas Persson, Assoc. Prof. Lasse Vines, Assoc. Prof. Øystein Prytz, Dr. Augustinas Galeckas and two young researchers - Dr. Klaus Magnus Johansen and Dr. Oleksandr I. Malyi.

Quantum electrodynamic fluctuation forces, which generalized the idealized force predicted by Casimir in 1948, had moved to an ever more central position in our understanding of mesoscopic forces between surfaces and between molecules and surfaces. Casimir-Lifshitz and Casimir-Polder forces had generalized and transformed the notion of van der Waals forces. Advances in experimental technique and the development of new theoretical tools had enabled this transformation. There remained highly controversial issues to be resolved, such as the nature of thermal corrections, the form of Casimir friction, and whether it was realistic to achieve Casimir repulsion and levitation. The driver, however, was the potential applications of these phenomena to physical systems. The project was carried out at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) together with researchers from the University of Oslo (UiO). Joint subprojects with co-applicants included: Prof. Iver Håkon Brevik, Dr. Mathias Boström, Prof. Clas Persson, Dr. Kristian Berland, and Dr. Oleksandr I. Malyi.