Index

Effect­ful outreach

Effect­ful outreach

14 October 2024 @ Stuttgart

This week, IQST parti­cip­ated in the second edition of the Quantum Effects exhib­i­tion and confer­ence in Stutt­gart — a platform for visit­ors from diverse backgrounds to discover and explore application-oriented quantum technologies. 

IQST was present at the joint stand of QuantumBW, an innov­a­tion initi­at­ive that pools quantum techno­logy expert­ise across Baden-Württemberg. Several IQST Fellows and research­ers from their groups presen­ted activ­it­ies within the IQST network. They brought with them a wide range of demon­strat­ors — from goggles for virtual-reality lab tours to a micrometre-scale repres­ent­a­tion of a Kandin­sky paint­ing. These tools helped to make quantum concepts more concrete, tangible and under­stand­able, thereby provid­ing bridges to applic­a­tions such as quantum comput­ing and quantum sensing. 

These efforts have been well rewar­ded. We were delighted by the great interest and posit­ive feedback we have received. The Minis­ter for Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, Petra Olschow­ski, visited us, as did other high-ranking deleg­a­tions and several school groups of differ­ent ages. We immensely enjoyed the discus­sions with our visit­ors and the oppor­tun­ity to share our passion for ‘all things quantum’. 

We are grate­ful to the Quantum Effects organ­isers for creat­ing this unique platform to showcase the rapid progress in quantum techno­lo­gies to such a wide range of inter­ested people, from children to industry leaders and policy makers. 

We would also like to thank every­one within IQST who helped at the fair or behind the scenes. The driving force was our Director Stefanie Barz, working closely with Christine Heuschmid and Nicole Metzler in the IQST office. Helping to set up and organ­ise the event were PhD repres­ent­at­ives Miriam Resch, Lukas Rückle and Mirko Rossini, together with early-stage research­ers from across the IQST family who helped with opera­tions and demonstrations. 

Welcome to our newest fellows

Welcome to our newest fellows.

14 October 2024

The IQST family contin­ues to grow. In recent months, eight new IQST Fellows and two Associ­ate Fellows have joined the network, from insti­tu­tions across Baden-Württemberg and in fields ranging from tests of macro­scopic quantum physics to ensur­ing the reliab­il­ity of quantum comput­ing — reflect­ing our mission to promote all aspects of the ever-expanding field of quantum science and technology.

Our cordial welcome to the new IQST Fellows: 

• Prof. Dr. Chris­tian Groß (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübin­gen) – Quantum simula­tion with ultracold atoms

• Prof. Dr. Andreas Köhn (Universität Stutt­gart) – Theor­et­ical chemistry, molecules with non-trivial electronic structure

• Prof. Dr. Igor Lesan­ovsky (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübin­gen) – Theor­et­ical atomic physics and synthetic quantum systems

• Prof. Dr. Bettina Lotsch (Max-Planck Insti­tute for Solid State Research, Stutt­gart, Germany) – Rational mater­i­als synthesis at the inter­face between solid-state chemistry, mater­i­als chemistry and nanochemistry

• Prof. Dr. Benjamin Stick­ler (Universität Ulm) – Theor­et­ical physics, testing and exploit­ing macro­scopic quantum physics

• Dr. Lorenzo Tesi (Universität Stutt­gart) – Terahertz magnetic reson­ance of molecu­lar spin qubits on surfaces

• Prof. Dr. Max von Delius (Universität Ulm) – Supra­molecu­lar chemistry, complex dynamic networks, functional organic materials

• PD Dr. Sabine Wölk (Universität Ulm) – Quantum techno­lo­gies, quantum inform­a­tion, quantum communication 

Prof. Dr. Chris­tian Groß
Prof. Dr. Andreas Köhn
Prof. Dr. Igor Lesanovsky
Prof. Dr. Bettina Lotsch
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Stickler
Dr. Lorenzo Tesi
Prof. Dr. Max von Delius
PD Dr. Sabine Wölk

and the new Associ­ated IQST Fellows: 

• Prof. Dr. Michael Pradel (Universität Stutt­gart) – Automated testing of quantum-computing platforms 

• Dr. Vadim Vorobyov (Universität Stutt­gart) – Quantum sensing, quantum networks, NV-NMR/ESR, numer­ical physical simulations 

Prof. Dr. Michael Pradel
Dr. Vadim Vorobyov

We look forward to contin­ued fruit­ful inter­ac­tions with our newest fellows and their groups. 

New IQST Spark­ing programme and Postdoc programme

New IQST Spark­ing programme and Postdoc programme

Spark­ing programme:

The IQST spark­ing programme brings excel­lent Master students in touch with quantum research in IQST and funds schol­ar­ships for MSc projects in one of the IQST groups.

The mission of the IQST spark­ing programme is also to support diversity, equal­ity, and inter­na­tion­al­isa­tion at IQST. We especially encour­age Master students from groups under­rep­res­en­ted in quantum science and techno­logy to apply.

More inform­a­tion

Postdoc programme

IQST is invit­ing applic­a­tions for its Postdoc­toral Fellow­ships. The success­ful candid­ate will have the oppor­tun­ity to work in an inter­dis­cip­lin­ary research envir­on­ment at IQST.

We encour­age applic­a­tions that are focused on collab­or­at­ive and cross-disciplinary research includ­ing collab­or­a­tion with several IQST groups. The programme is focused on attract­ing applic­ants from places other than the IQST Fellows institutions. 


More inform­a­tion

First the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, then quantum research in Stuttgart

First the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, then quantum research in Stuttgart

After attend­ing this year’s Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, 18 young scient­ists took the oppor­tun­ity to visit IQST. The visit of the young scient­ists from Brazil, France, the UK, India, Canada, the Nether­lands, South Africa, the Czech Repub­lic and the USA was organ­ized by Baden-Württemberg Inter­na­tional (BW_i) as a follow-up program to the 2024 edition of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.

IQST Director Prof. Stefanie Barz welcomed the guests and gave an overview of quantum research at IQST. The members of the deleg­a­tion then had the oppor­tun­ity to exper­i­ence cutting-edge quantum research at the Univer­sity of Stutt­gart up close during three labor­at­ory tours — through the labs of Prof. Joerg Wrachtrup, Prof. Sebastian Loth and Prof. Barz — and to look over the shoulders of young research­ers from Stuttgart.

During the guided tours of the labor­at­or­ies, there were lively discus­sions and many inter­ested questions. The guests were also impressed by the pioneer­ing research infra­struc­ture in Stutt­gart, in partic­u­lar the ZAQuant Center for Applied Quantum Techno­logy, which opened in 2021 and offers excel­lently equipped labor­at­or­ies for research into quantum sensor mater­i­als and for preci­sion measure­ments on quantum sensors. 

After their visit to Stutt­gart, the group will move on to Ulm, with further stops planned during the week through­out Baden-Württemberg. 

Photos: Ludmilla Parsyak / Gabriel Parsyak

IQST at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

IQST at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

This week, the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings took place — with a focus on physics — bring­ing together 37 Nobel Laureates with almost 650 young scient­ists from all over the world. It was our distinct pleas­ure and privilege to actively contrib­ute to the programme of this unique event.

On the final day, parti­cipants were taken by boat to the closing ceremony on the pictur­esque island of Mainau, famous for its flowers and park landscape. The event was hosted by the state of Baden-Württemberg, and during the boat trip the passen­gers had the oppor­tun­ity to get to know the IQST. Shreya Kumar, a PhD student at the Univer­sity of Stutt­gart, gave a brief intro­duc­tion and, together with postdoc­toral researcher Vadim Vorobyov, welcomed guests to the IQST stand, where visit­ors could take a virtual tour of the lab and get a taste of what quantum research is like ‘from the inside’. Many people stopped by, includ­ing Nobel Laureate Klaus von Klitz­ing and numer­ous young scient­ists, with whom we had inspir­ing discussions. 

Many thanks again to all the visit­ors and to the organ­isers of this event for giving us the oppor­tun­ity to contribute. 

Photos: Shreya Kumar, Vadim Vorobyov

More inform­a­tion

IQST gradu­ate programme announcement

New call: IQST gradu­ate programme funded by QuantumBW

Note: The deadline for proposal submis­sion has been exten­ded to Septem­ber 15th, 2024.


IQST is happy to announce a new gradu­ate programme funded through QuantumBW. 
The new gradu­ate programme will offer educa­tion and train­ing, network­ing events, and IP/start-up consult­ing and is open to all early-career research­ers in quantum science and techno­logy in Baden-Württemberg. The programme will be start­ing in October.

In addition, we are welcom­ing applic­a­tions for 10 PhD projects that are funded through the programme. The focus of these positions is on closing the gap between basic research and techno­logy devel­op­ment, i.e. projects with high techno­lo­gical poten­tial which are still at an early stage. 

You are very welcome to apply for a PhD project as a tandem of an academic and an indus­trial partner. The academic super­vi­sion by a professor from a univer­sity in Baden-Württemberg is comple­men­ted by mentor from a local company. 

More inform­a­tion can be found by click­ing on the links below. For further questions, please contact us at gradschool-application@iqst.org

Call: Gradu­ate School

A wealth of inspiration

A wealth of inspiration

07 July 2024

With a bit of a delay, we look back on our recent IQST retreat for early-career research­ers. Held at the pictur­esque Reisens­burg castle near Ulm, the event once again combined excel­lent science, soft-skills train­ing and plenty of oppor­tun­it­ies for discus­sion and network­ing, to inspire and foster collab­or­a­tion across groups and institutions.

It was a partic­u­lar pleas­ure and privilege that also this year so many leading inter­na­tional research­ers came to share their enthu­si­asm and insights into an excit­ingly broad range of scientific topics:



  • Dr. Sieglinde Pfaend­ler (IBM) on future perspect­ives for quantum technologies
  • Prof. Urbasi Sinha (Raman Research Insti­tute) on secure quantum communication
  • Dr. Gerard McCaul (Tulane Univer­sity) on quantum dynam­ical emulation
  • Prof. Friedemann Reinhard (Universität Rostock) on challenges for quantum sensing
  • Dr. Laeti­tia Farin­acci (Univer­sity of Stutt­gart) on ESR, pump–probe spectro­scopy and STM
  • Prof. Markus Münzen­berg (Universität Greif­swald) on ultra­fast spintronics
  • Prof. Markus Gräfe (Technis­che Universität Darmstadt) on quantum imaging
  • Dr. Philipp Preiss (Max Planck Insti­tute of Quantum Optics) on quantum simula­tion using ultracold atoms

In addition to such enlight­en­ing scientific discourse, the retreat is also a platform for acquir­ing valuable trans­fer­able skills, this year with career coach Dr. Iris Köhler provid­ing advice and guidance on assess­ing one’s own competencies. 

An equally import­ant part of the retreat is the present­a­tion of parti­cipants’ own results in poster sessions. These provided a lively forum for sharing insights and ideas — with a touch of compet­i­tion, as two posters were to be awarded prizes. The prize eventu­ally went to two deserving winners, Dr. Manisha Samanta (Max-Planck Insti­tute for Solid State Research, Stutt­gart, Germany) and Jonathan Körber (Univer­sity of Stutt­gart). The discus­sions contin­ued over coffee breaks and dinners, and during the highlight of the social activ­it­ies — an excit­ing canoe trip.

Once again, our cordial thanks go to every­one who made this retreat a success, first and foremost our esteemed speak­ers, and the PhD Repres­ent­at­ives Niklas Gaiser, Manee­sha Ismail, Takuya Kitamura, Shreya Kumar, Rouven Maier, Jose Manuel Monter­ro­sas Romero and Mirko Rossini as well as IQST Science and Commu­nic­a­tion Manager Dimitra Kanta who organ­ized this inspir­ing event. 

(Photos: Dimitra Kanta)

When art and science meet

When art meets science

Art and science are famously inter­twined, with concepts such as symmetry, abstrac­tion and challen­ging your own percep­tion having import­ant roles in both. On Tuesday this week, IQST Director Prof. Stefanie Barz had the pleas­ure and privilege of visit­ing Petra Olschow­ski, the Minis­ter of Science, Research and Arts for the State of Baden-Württemberg (Minis­terium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg) for a meeting that was centred on both, art and science.

Professor Barz travelled to the ministry in the centre of the state capital Stutt­gart to present Minis­ter Olschow­ski with a copy of a graphic that was commis­sioned for IQST’s tenth anniversary, which we celeb­rated earlier this year. To mark the occasion, artist Andreas Tesch created the graphic “Yes and no.”, which captures both plain elegance and latent ambiguity. 

The silkscreen-on-paper graphic was printed in an edition of 50 copies. We are delighted that one of them now adorns the offices of Minis­ter Olschow­ski, who was a lecturer in art history — among various other roles in the Arts — before becom­ing Minis­ter of Science, Research and Arts.

Job alert — Head (m/f/d) admin­is­tra­tion and finan­cial controlling

Job alert

Head (m/f/d) admin­is­tra­tion and finan­cial controlling

We are looking for a new colleague to manage the finances of the IQST — Center for Integ­rated Quantum Science and Techno­logy as well as admin­is­trat­ive matters, to coordin­ate the commu­nic­a­tion with IQST Fellows, the IQST community and external share­hold­ers, and to organ­ise, plan and imple­ment events, workshops and conferences. 

For more inform­a­tion, please see the advert­ise­ment below. We look forward to receiv­ing your application. 

More Inform­a­tion

IQST retreat 2024

IQST retreat 2024

For early-career researchers

The annual retreat of the IQST community will take place in 2024 again! This year’s retreat will be at the Schloss Reisens­burg, close to Ulm, from 22nd to 24th of May.

What you can expect:

  • Diverse Scientific Talks from Leading Inter­na­tional Research­ers
  • Social Activ­it­ies
  • Network­ing with fellow PhD Students and Profess­ors
  • Soft-Skill Seminars
  • Poster Sessions

You can find below the prelim­in­ary sched­ule of the retreat. The number of spaces is limited, so if you are inter­ested in taking part, please contact us at hello@iqst.org.

We hope to see you all there!