Mohammad Hafezi receives Humboldt Research Award, strengthening his collaboration with the MPSD

Mohammad Hafezi, Professor at the University of Maryland and Fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), has been honored with a Humboldt Research Award. As part of the award, he will spend time at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg, collaborating with leading scientists in the field of quantum materials and light-matter interactions.

At the JQI and the University of Maryland, Hafezi’s research group investigates quantum optical control techniques both theoretically and experimentally. He is particularly interested in the physics of correlated electron systems, in other words, materials in which electrons interact as a group rather than as individual quants.

During his stay at the MPSD, Professor Hafezi will collaborate with Angel Rubio, Director of the Theory Department, and Andrea Cavalleri, Director of the Condensed Matter Dynamics Department, and their research groups. Together, they aim to develop advanced techniques for controlling quantum optical effects and integrate them with findings from current quantum computing research, with a particular focus on engineered superconductivity and the control of quantum phases of matter using light.

Hafezi looks forward to working in close collaboration with the scientists at the MPSD. “I find it deeply compelling to investigate whether quantum-optical control techniques can be leveraged to probe, manipulate, and engineer correlated electronic systems in novel ways,” he says, and adds: “We may have to go back to the drawing board and then write things from first principles and come up with other models that can capture such many-body physics. So there is much work that has to be done.”

He continues explaining that visiting Germany is an incredible opportunity for organic interactions with his colleagues that will allow them to more easily connect and build on each other’s ideas. About the award Hafezi says: “I’m honored to receive it; it's a great opportunity. The Humboldt Foundation has a long history of funding exceptional and interesting scientific work.”

His hosts at MPSD share his excitement. Andrea Cavalleri highlights the significance of Hafezi’s visit: “Professor Hafezi is a highly distinguished quantum physicist who is exploring the interface between optics and condensed matter physics, and also between theory and experiment. We are very fortunate to have attracted him as a scientific visitor.”

Angel Rubio also emphasizes the scientific opportunity this research stay represents: “We are very much looking forward to Mohammad Hafezi’s visit, his stay will strongly enhance collaboration with him and his group in Maryland. He is widely recognized for his work and his visit will be of great value in the many projects we intend to start together, both in the lab and at the drawing board.”

The Humboldt Research Award recognizes Professor Hafezi’s groundbreaking work in quantum many-body and topological physics. He holds the Minta Martin Professorship of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics and is a Fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland as well as an Affiliate Fellow at the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science.

_{This text was written using parts of the news of the Joint Quantum Institute.}