Every two years, the optics enterprise ZEISS honours outstanding research achievements in the fields of optics and photonics with the "ZEISS Research Award". This year, the award goes to Prof. Dr. Immanuel Bloch – one of the world's leading minds in the development of quantum simulation experiments with ultracold atoms. Immanuel Bloch is scientific Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching, Professor of Experimental Physics at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich and a founding member of MQV. The ZEISS Research Award will be presented to him in a gala ceremony at the Deutsches Museum in Munich on 26 June 2023.
Immanuel Bloch is internationally recognized as a pioneer of quantum research: with highly complex optical experiments at the interface of quantum optics, quantum information processing and solid-state physics, he has established a new field of research – the investigation of artificial quantum matter with the aid of ultracold atoms in artificial crystals of light, so-called optical lattices. In his work, he was able to precisely measure and control the interaction between atoms or small molecules using ultracold quantum gases, helping to better understand the way quantum materials such as superconductors work. With this scientific efforts, Immanuel Bloch paved the way for the new interdisciplinary field of quantum simulation.
"I am very pleased to receive this high award, which honours our scientific work in the field of quantum simulations of more than two decades. It is great to be part of such an excellent group of scientists who received this award before me," says Immanuel Bloch.
The following criteria are applied for the "ZEISS Research Award": The candidates have made outstanding achievements in the field of optics or photonics, are still active in research and their work has great potential for further knowledge and practical applications. If both requirements are met, the researchers are proposed to a jury of scientific experts from all over the world. The chairman of this jury is Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mlynek from Humboldt University Berlin. The award will be presented at a gala ceremony on 26 June 2023 at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
The "Carl Zeiss Award for Young Researchers" will be awarded independently of the "ZEISS Research Award". This prize is awarded by the Ernst Abbe Fund and is aimed specifically at young scientists. This year, three young talents will be honoured: Dr. Simon Baier from the University of Innsbruck, Dr. Arindam Ghosh from the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg and Dr. Dasha Nelidova from the University of Basel.
Congratulations!