Claudius Gros (born 18 February 1961 in Mainz, Germany) is a German physicist. He is a professor of theoretical physics in

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

since 2005. He specializes in

computational neuroscience Computational neuroscience (also known as theoretical neuroscience or mathematical neuroscience) is a branch of neuroscience which employs mathematics, computer science, theoretical analysis and abstractions of the brain to understand th ...

s and

complex systems theory A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...

Career

Finishing his studies in physics 1985 at the

ETH Zürich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ra ...

with a thesis on heavy Fermions, Gros continued for a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in theoretical

solid-state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as solid-state chemistry, quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state phy ...

. Using projected

wave function In quantum physics, a wave function (or wavefunction) is a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system. The most common symbols for a wave function are the Greek letters and (lower-case and capital psi (letter) ...

s, as introduced originally by

Martin Gutzwiller Martin Charles Gutzwiller (12 October 1925 – 3 March 2014) was a Swiss-American physicist, known for his work on field theory, quantum chaos, and complex systems. He spent most of his career at IBM Research, and was also an adjunct prof ...

, he and his advisor, Thomas Maurice Rice, were able to predict d-wave superconductivity for

high-temperature superconductors High-temperature superconductivity (high-c or HTS) is superconductivity in materials with a critical temperature (the temperature below which the material behaves as a superconductor) above , the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. They are "high ...

. From 1988-1990, Gros worked with Steven M. Girvin and Allan H. MacDonald at the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

. He then spent time at Dortmund University. In 1999, he joined

Saarland University Saarland University (, ) is a public research university located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland. It was founded in 1948 in Homburg in co-operation with France and is organized in six faculties that cover all major ...

as professor of

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

. In 2005, he moved to

. Gros now works in

complex systems A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...

theory, focusing on

complex adaptive system A complex adaptive system (CAS) is a system that is ''complex'' in that it is a dynamic network of interactions, but the behavior of the ensemble may not be predictable according to the behavior of the components. It is '' adaptive'' in that the ...

s relevant to the

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

s. His lecture course on the subject has seen four editions. In 2016, Gros published a novel. He is married to physicist Roser Valentí.

Genesis Project

In 2016 Gros studied the feasibility of a low-cost interstellar mission, aiming to establish a

biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

unicellular organism A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of a single cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of multiple cells. Organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and ...

s on otherwise only transiently habitable

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first det ...

s, fast-forwarding

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

potentially by several billion years. The long mission duration would imply, according to Gros, that the Genesis Project would not have any tangible benefit for humanity. The initial acceleration could be achieved by

laser propulsion Laser propulsion is a form of beam-powered propulsion where the energy source is a remote (usually ground-based) laser system and separate from the reaction mass. This form of propulsion differs from a conventional chemical rocket where both energy ...

, akin to that envisioned by the

Breakthrough Starshot Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project by the Breakthrough Initiatives to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of light sail interstellar probes named ''Starchip'', to be capable of making the journey to the Alpha Centauri st ...

project, with passive deceleration at the target using magnetic sails. Overall, the probe would weight about 1.5 tons and travel at 0.3 percent of the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant exactly equal to ). It is exact because, by international agreement, a metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time i ...

. An on-board miniaturized gene laboratory would synthesize the microbes. The

precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

biosphere established by the Genesis probe would evolve subsequently on its own, potentially to complex lifeforms. The concept of the Genesis Project carries a series of fundamental ethical and philosophical aspects, which have been discussed in the media.

References

External links

Homepage
at the

Goethe university Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

.
''Jessica Boddy''''Q&A: Should we seed life on alien worlds?''

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, 9. September 2016.
''Ross Andersen''''How to Jump-Start Life Elsewhere in Our Galaxy''
The Atlantic, 25. August 2016.
''Goethe Interactive COVID-19 Analyzer''
Interactive Covid-19 web tool. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gros, Claudius Living people 21st-century German physicists Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt ETH Zurich alumni German male writers 1961 births