Quantum physicist Hannes Pichler has been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) for his theoretical research on quantum many-body physics and quantum information processing. The grant, endowed with around 1.5 million euros, is the highest award for successful young scientists in Europe.
In a special issue of Nature Physics, Francesca Ferlaino and Matthew Norcia highlight the great potential of ultracold quantum gases from lanthanides. Despite their complexity, they are comparatively easy to access for experimental research and offer a wide range of possibilities for basic research and application.
Quantum physicist Rainer Blatt was appointed Distinguished Affiliated Professor of the Technical University of Munich in early November. He was also appointed an external member of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching near Munich this fall. Since spring, Rainer Blatt has been coordinating Munich Quantum Valley, an initiative to expand quantum science in Bavaria.
Today, the data company Clarivate has published the annually updated list of the most cited researchers worldwide. With the quantum physicists Rainer Blatt, Christian Roos and Peter Zoller, three Innsbruck physicists are among the "Highly Cited Researchers".
Experimental physicist Francesca Ferlaino has been awarded the Cardinal Innitzer Prize for Natural Sciences 2021 last weekend in Vienna for her outstanding achievements in the field of ultracold quantum gases. Her pioneering work with lathanoid atoms has been internationally groundbreaking in this field.