Eros Mariani

Dr. Eros Mariani serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter, UK, where he has been a faculty member since 2010. He currently holds the position of Director of Education and Student Experience in Physics (since 2023) and previously directed Global Engagement in Physics (2016-2023). His research program centers on theoretical condensed matter physics, with a focus on low-dimensional systems including graphene, carbon nanotubes, nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS), and polaritonic metasurfaces, achieved through extensive international collaborations.

His educational journey began with a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Universitaet Hamburg (2003), followed by a Feinberg Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Weizmann Institute of Science (2003-2006) and a Research Assistant role at Freie Universitaet Berlin (2006-2009).

Dr. Mariani's research interests encompass theoretical condensed matter physics, particularly correlated states in reduced dimensionality. He has made seminal contributions to understanding flexural phonons in graphene membranes, electromechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, and quantum transport in NEMS. More recently, his work has expanded into plasmonics and polaritonics, investigating cavity-embedded metasurfaces and the emergence of Dirac-like quasiparticles. His research bridges fundamental theory with potential applications in nanotechnology and quantum devices.

Analysis of his recent publications (2008-2020) reveals a clear evolution from graphene electromechanics to advanced polaritonic systems. His work consistently addresses the interplay between mechanical, electronic, and optical properties in low-dimensional materials, often revealing novel quantum phenomena. Collaborations with leading European and Israeli institutions have been instrumental in these discoveries, resulting in high-impact publications across Nature-family journals and Physical Review Letters.

Dr. Mariani's scientific achievements have been recognized with several prestigious awards:

• Feinberg Fellowship, Weizmann Institute of Science (2003)
• Merit Award, University of Exeter (2012)
• National Professorship Habilitation - ASN, Italy (2014)
• Theo Murphy Blue Skies Award, Royal Society (2017)
• Above and Beyond Award, University of Exeter (2020)
• Runner-up Best Lecturer, University of Exeter (2013)
• Best Lecturer in Physics, University of Exeter (2012-2019)
• Most Innovative Lecturer in Physics, University of Exeter (2011)

He has successfully secured substantial research funding including multiple Royal Society grants (2012-2021 totaling over £100K), a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant (£260K, 2015-2018), and Wellcome Trust Seed Corn Funding (£10K, 2020). As an educator, he serves as module leader for Statistical Physics and Quantum Many-Body Theory at the Master's level and has been honored repeatedly for his teaching excellence. His service to the academic community includes external examination of PhD theses at Lancaster, Chalmers, and Strasbourg universities.

Dr. Mariani maintains an active international research network, collaborating with groups at Freie Universitaet Berlin (Felix von Oppen), Université de Strasbourg (Guillaume Weick, Rodolfo Jalabert), University of Genova (Maura Sassetti), Chalmers University (Jari Kinaret), University of Exeter (Bill Barnes), and Imperial College London (Ortwin Hess), creating a vibrant interdisciplinary research environment.