Quantum Matter Academy
The Quantum Matter Academy (QMA) takes care of all cluster related academic teaching and personnel development measures concerning early career researchers at all stages within our cluster of excellence. Most importantly, the QMA intends to foster a cluster-wide common spirit among the PhD students and postdocs, with the central goal to build bridges between research groups and, therefore, between Würzburg and Dresden. Regular meetings such as the annual QMA retreat or the Cluster retreat are intended to give young scientists the opportunity to network.
Below you find an overview of the offers that you can take advantage of/participate in as a QMA member
- QMA Events
- Training Opportunities JMU Würzburg und TU Dresden
- Cluster-relevant lectures
- External Schools
If you have any questions regarding the mentioned offers or the QMA in general, please do not hesitate to contact our QMA coordinators Kerstin Brankatschk at TU Dresden or Katharina Klug at JMU Würzburg.
QMA Representatives
Our early career researchers are an important part of the cluster. Their interests are represented in the committees by the QMA representatives, who are elected every two years.
The election of these representatives are held during the QMA or cluster retreats with the latest QMA reprentatives being elected in Erfurt 2025.
Francesca Paoletti
Steering CommitteeI am a postdoctoral researcher in the Computational Quantum Materials Group of Prof. Sangiovanni at the University of Würzburg. My research focuses on the effects of electronic correlations in topological materials, which I investigate using computational techniques such as auxiliary rotors and DMFT. Additionally I am interested in topological phase transitions and aim to describe them using paradigms analogous to the Landau–Ginzburg framework.
Victor Teodor Cozea
Steering CommitteeChair of inorganic chemistry IIat TU Dresden
victor_teodor.cozea@mailbox.tu-dresden.de
I am a Ph.D. student in the group of Prof. Michael Ruck at TU Dresden. I work on Bi-rich weak topological insulators. Unlike their strong counterpart, they exhibit edge, not surface, topological states though they are 3D materials. In my research I synthesize crystals of quaternary compositions using heating profiles optimized via differential scanning calorimetry and characterize their properties using X-ray diffraction, SEM-EDX, DFT, and electrical transport and magnetization measurements to elucidate both their structure and topological properties.
Tatiana Uaman Svetikova
Flex Fund Selection CommitteeI am a PhD student, soon to be a postdoc, working in the group of Dr. habil.
Georgy Astakhov. My research focuses on HgTe, a fascinating and tunable material that exhibits topological properties under specific conditions. We obtain these structures from the Molenkamp group at JMU, one of the few places worldwide capable of producing them for research. In particular, I investigate THz nonlinear effects such as third-harmonic generation (THG) and four-wave mixing (FWM), as well as the dynamics of Dirac fermions, including relaxation and scattering processes.
Sameran Banerjee
FlexFund Selection CommitteeI am a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Matthias Bode, Chair of Experimental Physics 2. My research primarily consists of investigating the effect of illumination on the superconducting gap of materials (and interfaces) at low temperatures using Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy/Spectroscopy techniques. I have always been curious about the nature of electronic interactions with external perturbations and the macroscopic effects of many-body interactions. Apart from academics, I find peace in listening to music and having nature walks! The purpose of being a part of QMA and ctd.qmat is to share my experiences and to learn more from the ideas, cultures, perspectives and journey of others within and outside the community.