QPhoton Professorships
Within the framework of the Carl Zeiss Foundation Center QPhoton, selected professorships are being established or supported at the three QPhoton locations in Jena, Stuttgart, and Ulm.
Prof. Dr. Fabian Steinlechner (Jena) | Prof. Dr. Benjamin Stickler (Ulm) | Dr. Jonas Ziegler (Ulm) | N.N. (Stuttgart)
Prof. Dr. Fabian Steinlechner
Since 11/2023
Experimental Quantum Information
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Abbe Center of Photonics
E-Mail
Since 2023, the Experimental Quantum Information professorship of Fabian Steinlechner is supported within the CZS Center QPhoton). The Steinlechner group conducts applied research in the field of quantum communication and photonic quantum information processing. Working in close collaboration with partners in academia and industry they aim to bridge the gap between fundamental quantum research and real-world applications. Fabian Steinlechner's research focuses on novel quantum light sources for applications in quantum communication and sensing, efficient processing and detection schemes for high-dimensional quantum information, as well as scalable methods for the transmission of quantum states over long distances. A central goal is to incorporate photonic quantum technology in robust, field-deployable hardware systems that are suitable for integration in future quantum networks, long-distance atmospheric free-space links, and ultimately satellite-based quantum key distribution sytems.
Research areas
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Stickler
Since 08/2023
Theory of light-matter interaction
Ulm University
Institute for Complex Quantum Systems
E-Mail
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Stickler joined Ulm University in August 2023 as a DFG-funded Heisenberg Professor, where his research group is supported by the CZS QPhoton. The Stickler group develops theoretical techniques to understand, monitor, and control the quantum mechanical motion of nanoscale to microscale objects interacting with optical fields. The goal is to enable quantum experiments with objects of unprecedented mass and complexity and thereby enable their technological exploitation in quantum sensing and metrology. The Stickler group conducts fundamental research in close collaboration with several experimental groups. Benjamin Stickler obtained his doctorate at the University of Graz in 2013, worked as postdoctoral researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen and at Imperial College London, before joining Ulm University in 2023.
Innovation Project: Levitated photonic microrotors in the quantum regime
Research Areas
Testing and exploiting macroscopic quantum physics.
Dr. Jonas Ziegler
From 04/2026
Experimental Solid State Physics
Ulm University
Institute of Quantum Matter
Now: ETH Zürich
Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Photonics Laboratory
E-Mail
Dr. Jonas Ziegler received his PhD in Experimental Physics from the University of Regensburg (Germany), working on the transport of exciton complexes in 2D materials. In 2023, he joined the Photonics Lab at the ETH Zürich and was awarded an ETH Fellowship to investigate the energy transfer excitation for stable perovskite light-emitting devices.
Starting in April 2026, Dr. Jonas Ziegler will take up the professorship for Experimental Solid State Research with a focus on collective quantum phenomena at Ulm University. The CZS Center QPhoton will provide extra funding to support his research.
Research areas
- Many-body interactions in exciton ensembles
- Collective emission and photonic devices
