The Standard Model of physics is still far from complete: there is an unexplained asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe, gravity is not included and dark matter and dark energy are not understood. Quantum sensors have become strong tools to search for effects stemming from physics beyond the Standard Model. I am searching for 1-2 … Read more
At the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL) we carry out exciting fundamental physics research at the highest possible level with relevance to key technologies in nanolithography. We contribute to the production of ever smarter and smaller electronics, while at the same time pushing the boundaries of our fundamental insight into the workings of nature. … Read more
In the same way that a photon can be seen as the quasiparticle that carries the energy of an electromagnetic wave, magnons are quasiparticles that propagate the energy of a spin wave. Spin waves are low-energy excitations that arise from the correlated motion of electron-hole pairs with opposite spins. Theoretically, they can be studied within … Read more
3D printing has proven to be a game-changer in space exploration and has revolutionized the way astronauts and space agencies approach problems in space. With 3D printing, it is possible to produce complex components and parts on demand, reducing the need for large inventories and saving space and weight on spacecraft. It also enables the … Read more
Can we use robots to study biological materials like tissues? We think we can! We are developing experimental and computational platforms to study the dense population of moving cells using robots. To this end, we program the robots about the size of a 2-Euro coin to move like cells. We then explore how robots move … Read more
When plant face different light conditions they have to adapt, sometimes the light is too strong and they get a “sun burn” which destroys the biochemical machinery for photosynthesis. If the light is too weak they “starve” because photosynthesis does not work well. Plants seem like very calm organisms, but if you zoom into their … Read more
Active Matter refers to a class of physical systems made up of self-propelled, interacting entities, such as living organisms or synthetic particles, that exhibit collective behavior and can produce forces and fluxes at the macroscopic scale. Active matter systems can generate directed motion, spontaneous pattern formation, and display emergent properties that are not present in … Read more
Many industries and technological developments benefit by designing new materials to optimized performances and save energy. For instance, cosmetic or food industries significantly benefit from materials that have engineered mechanical properties. Designing material in the lab is however expensive and require many steps. Here we aim to use computational fluid dynamics to explore emergent behaviour … Read more
We are witnessing a truly remarkable moment: the birth of an artificial intelligence. Large language models, machine learning and deep fakes are all running on distributed computing networks that use a tremendous amount of energy. For example, the training of chat-GPT used up approximately 1 GWh of energy. The projections are that at the current … Read more
In 2015, a team in Strasbourg made an amazing (and controversial) claim: The electrical conductivity of a material can be dramatically enhanced by embedding it in a tailored photonic environment. Remarkably, light was not involved. The enhancement was due to the coupling of electron-hole pairs to the vacuum field, i.e., to nothing. The team recently … Read more
