Klemens Hammerer delivered his inaugural lecture at the University of Innsbruck on Tuesday evening. The theoretical physicist, who has been leading a research group at IQOQI Innsbruck since 2025, presented his research program at the interface of quantum optics, quantum information, and precision measurement.
Klemens Hammerer was jointly appointed by the University of Innsbruck and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). As Professor of Theoretical Quantum Optics at the university and head of a research group at the ÖAW Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI), he strengthens the quantum hotspot Innsbruck in a field of central importance for the future of quantum technology: quantum metrology and precision measurement.
Quantum correlations as a resource
In his inaugural lecture, Hammerer demonstrated how quantum mechanics not only imposes fundamental limits on precision, but when harnessed skillfully can also push these limits further. Whether in gravitational wave detection, atomic clocks, or atom interferometers: the most precise measurement platforms in the world all encounter fundamental bounds imposed by quantum mechanics. By engineering quantum correlations, exploiting entanglement, and tailoring measurement protocols, it becomes possible to surpass classical bounds and approach ultimate quantum limits. Hammerer's research program aims to transform these limitations into resources – drawing on theoretical quantum optics and ideas from quantum information to extend the frontiers of precision measurement.
About Klemens Hammerer
Klemens Hammerer studied physics at the University of Innsbruck. From 2002 to 2006 he was a doctoral researcher in the group of Ignacio Cirac at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, and received his PhD from the Technical University of Munich in 2006 with distinction. After working as a university assistant in the group of Peter Zoller in Innsbruck, he moved in 2010 to the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Innsbruck as a Senior Scientist, before being appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at Leibniz University Hannover. Since 2025, Hammerer is Professor of Theoretical Quantum Optics at the University of Innsbruck and leads a research group at IQOQI Innsbruck.
His research lies at the interface of quantum optics, quantum information, and precision measurement. It addresses how quantum resources can be utilized in realistic, open systems, and encompasses theoretical concepts for atomic clocks and quantum sensors with cold atoms and ions, methods for generating spin squeezing and quantum correlations in atomic and solid-state ensembles, and the coupling of light to mechanical degrees of freedom in mesoscopic systems. Methodologically, he combines analytical and numerical approaches to the dynamics of open quantum systems, in close connection with experimental platforms.