German Physical Society honors Kaiserslautern researcher for work in quantum optics

The German Physical Society (DPG) and OPTICA (formerly OSA) have awarded Prof. Dr. Michael Fleischhauer the Herbert Walther Prize for outstanding contributions to quantum optics and atomic physics and for exceptional services to the international scientific community.

Michael Fleischhauer receives the prize for key contributions in the field of nonlinear quantum optics and photonic and atomic quantum technologies, in particular for the development of instruments for the coherent control of atoms with light, including the concept of dark-state polaritons and the Rydberg blockade.

Michael Fleischhauer was appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Kaiserslautern in 2000 and has been a member of the State Research Center OPTIMAS since its foundation in 2008. He played a key role in the development of one of the most important methods for storing quantum states of light. This method, known as “stopping light”, realizes a key element of a photon-based quantum communication system. Since 2020, he has been the spokesperson for the Collaborative Research Center “OSCAR - Open System Control of Atomic and Photonic Matter”.