The University of Warsaw laureates under the SONATINA 8:

• project title: Exploring the Influence of Sensory and Language Experience on Brain Organization in Deaf Individuals

principal investigator: Dr Maria Zimmermann

granted funds: PLN942,859

The researcher will study the plasticity of the human brain in a group of people who are deaf from birth with different language experiences.

The project uses two complementary approaches. First, naturalistic stimuli will be used: subjects watch a silent movie while their brains are scanned. The use of machine learning-based fMRI analysis will explore how the above different aspects of the presented film are decoded in the auditory and linguistic areas of deaf people. Secondly, tasks will be used to localise specific functions in the individual participant’s brain (language, visual semantics). In this way, analysis of fMRI data in a group of individuals will be based not on anatomically equivalent areas, but areas that have a similar functional profile in each subject.

The project also takes into account the influence of individual deaf people’s experiences, including language exposure and sensory experiences, by integrating naturalistic fMRI measurements with behavioural data.

• project title: Moneta falsa et alia – Money in Crisi in Byzantine Egypt: the Case of “Marea”/Philoxenite

principal investigator: Dr Szymon Piotr Jellonek

granted funds: PLN732,591

The researcher aims to initially divide irregular coins according to four characteristics: production method, metrology, style and legality. The project includes a numismatic and metallographic study of the irregular coins discovered at “Marea”/Philoxenite. Also, the researcher will investigate the circumstances of the origin and chronology of irregular coins. Further, he will seek the answer to the question whether irregular coins were widely accepted, or their production was prosecuted by the authorities.

The achieved results will be compared with archaeological material from other sites and regions of the Byzantine Empire.

This is the first project in which an attempt will be carried out to classify irregular Byzantine coins from Egypt.

• project title: Optical Quantum Sensors Based on Exciton-Polariton Interferometers

principal investigator: Dr Eng. Andrzej Opala

granted funds: PLN765,633

The project aims to develop innovative optical sensors that operate in the quantum domain. It uses a combination of physical sensors, specially designed waveguides, and artificial neural networks.

The project involves three research tasks. The first task involves developing a theoretical model of a polariton quantum sensor. Detailed numerical simulations will be carried out based on advanced quantum computing methods to describe its operation accurately. The second task will focus on optimising the sensor to perform specific tasks, such as detecting quantum entanglement or determining quantum features of incident light. The third task deals with the designed device while considering a number of necessary experimental details that should have been considered in the initial analysis stage. The present project combines condensed matter physics with the application of neuromorphic computing systems, i.e. real computing devices (electronic or photonic) that operate on the analogy of biological neural networks. This interdisciplinary project may contribute to developing a new class of detectors operating in the quantum domain, which supports the development of fields such as quantum computing or quantum machine learning.