Award ceremony at the Deutsches Museum in Munich on 26 June 2023

Prof. Dr. Immanuel Bloch, who is considered a leading quantum physicist, is to be commended with the ZEISS Research Award for his outstanding research in the field of quantum simulation using ultracold atoms. The company has been recognizing outstanding research in optics and photonics since 1990. The ceremony will take place at the Deutsches Museum in Munich on 26 June 2023. Three young scientists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland will also receive awards. They will receive the Carl Zeiss Award for Young Researchers.

Global leader in quantum research

Every two years, ZEISS commends outstanding research in optics and photonics with the ZEISS Research Award. This year the award goes to Prof. Dr. Immanuel Bloch. The physicist, who obtained his Ph.D. from Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich, is a scientific director at the Garching-based Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and professor of experimental physics at LMU, and is considered a pioneer in quantum research. He has established a new field of research: the study of artificial quantum matter using ultracold atoms in artificial crystals of light or "optical lattices" through highly complex optical experiments at the interface of quantum optics, quantum information processing, and solid-state physics. His work has succeeded in precisely measuring and controlling the interplay between atoms or small molecules using ultracold quantum gases to better understand how quantum materials such as superconductors work. Immanuel Bloch has paved the way for the new interdisciplinary field of quantum simulation through his research.

ZEISS Research Award: ZEISS promotes science and research

ZEISS is also dedicated to enabling innovation at the limits of technology; not just as an optics company, but as a technology group. Science and research play an important role here. That's why ZEISS wants to commend outstanding research in optics and photonics with the ZEISS Research Award. The Carl Zeiss Research Award was started in 1990. It was succeeded by the ZEISS Research Award in 2016. Many of the 26 award winners have gone on to receive other important distinctions, and four of them have even won the Nobel Prize.

The following criteria are key to the ZEISS Research Award: the candidates have made outstanding achievements in optics or photonics; they should still be actively conducting research and their work offers major potential for gaining further knowledge and enabling practical applications. If these criteria are met, the researchers are put forward to a panel of scientific experts from around the world. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mlynek from Humboldt University in Berlin is head judge.

Carl Zeiss Award for Young Researchers

The Carl Zeiss Award for Young Researchers is presented as well as the ZEISS Research Award. The Ernst Abbe Fund sponsors this award which is earmarked for young scientists. This year, three talented young people will be recognized: Dr. Simon Baier from the University of Innsbruck, Dr. Arindam Ghosh from Julius Maximilian University in Würzburg and Dr. Dasha Nelidova from the University of Basel. Baier works on quantum mechanics at the Institute for Experimental Physics in Innsbruck. Ghosh is a researcher in biotechnology and biophysics. And Nelidova works in ophthalmology at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology in Basel. Her research includes a novel method for restoring vision after blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in industrialized countries.

 
Gala event and awards ceremony at the Deutsches Museum

The science awards will be presented in a special setting this year. ZEISS has invited guests to come to the Deutsches Museum on 26 June 2023. Around 200 guests from the fields of research, science and technology are expected to attend the award ceremony. It is also being held one day before Laser World of Photonics, the world's leading trade fair and congress for photonic components, systems and applications, which is being held in Munich from 27 to 30 June 2023.

In addition to the presentation of the awards, the highlight of the ZEISS event at the Deutsches Museum will be the keynote speech by the host, and ZEISS President and CEO Dr. Karl Lamprecht, as well as speeches by head judge Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mlynek from Humboldt University Berlin and Prof. Dr. Christine Silberhorn from the Institute for Photonic Quantum Systems (PhoQS) at the University of Paderborn.

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling 8.8 billion euros in its four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology and Consumer Markets (status: 30 September 2022).

For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world's leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses and binoculars.

With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future of technology and constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The company's significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS' technology and market leadership. ZEISS invests 13 percent of its revenue in research and development – this high level of expenditure has a long tradition at ZEISS and is also an investment in the future.

With over 38,000 employees, ZEISS is active globally in almost 50 countries with around 30 production sites, 60 sales and service companies and 27 research and development facilities (status: 30 September 2022). Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG.

Recent news from ZEISS