2013 – Prof. Maciej Lewenstein

Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, Barcelona, Spain

The GRC honors the achievements of Maciej Lewenstein - one of the leading researchers in the field of quantum physics and beyond, as his work has been highly influential in different branches of physics and other sciences. After graduating from Warsaw University in 1978 he joined the Centre for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In 1983, he finished his PhD in Essen and his habilitation in Warsaw in 1986. In 1995 he joined the faculty of the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique in Saclay, and in 1998 he became full professor at the University of Hannover. In 2005 he moved to Spain as ICREA - the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies - Research Professor to lead the quantum optics theory group at the Institute of Photonic Sciences.


Maciej Lewenstein receives Gutenberg Research Award 2013 from Matthias Neubert, Chair of the GRC Executive Committee (left), and Wolfgang Hofmeister, Vice President for Research at JGU (right)

In the scientific community, he is best-known for his contributions to high-order harmonics generation when matter is exposed to extreme laser field strengths. His articles on Bose-Einstein condensates, or degenerate ultra-cold fermionic atoms are read and cited widely. His proposals in quantum computing are nowadays realized experimentally.


Maciej Lewenstein delivering his honorary address

Although his research already encompasses a wide range of issues in quantum physics and the neighboring sciences, he still paves direction to new research fields where he contributes with his expertise and creativity. For instance, he has developed novel ideas for quantum simulation and its application both in the description of entanglement and many-body systems, relevant for condensed matter physics, and also for hard problems in high energy physics. His book on quantum phase transitions became quickly a reference in this field.

Photos: Peter Pulkowski, Mainz