Highest award of the German Physi­cal Society in the field of exper­i­men­tal physics

The German Physi­cal Society (Deutsche Physikalis­che Gesellschaft, DPG) has awarded Hector Fellow Immanuel Bloch, profes­sor at the Ludwig-Maxim­il­ians-Univer­sity Munich and direc­tor of the Max-Planck-Insti­tute for Quantum Optics, with the Stern-Gerlach-Medal for 2024. The Stern-Gerlach Medal is consid­ered the highest recog­ni­tion for outstand­ing achieve­ments in the field of exper­i­men­tal physics.

Immanuel Bloch is honored for his ground­break­ing work in the field of quantum simula­tions with ultra­cold atoms in optical lattices. His research began with the obser­va­tion of the transi­tion from super­flu­id­ity to the Mott-Insula­tor in optical lattices. These studies have revealed that very complex quantum-many-body-proper­ties of matter can be success­fully detected and analyzed using quantum optical methods. The results of these ground­break­ing works have signif­i­cantly advanced the field of quantum simulation.

The award ceremony will take place in March 2024 during the DPG Annual Meeting in Berlin.