MCQST Distinguished Lecturer Award
The MCQST Distinguished Lecturer prize acknowledges scientific achievements in the field of quantum science and technology, as well as a high commitment to communicate recent developments in their respective fields to a broader public.
Each year, MCQST awards up to two scientists with this distinction. Our Distinguished Lecturers will offer three different presentations during their visit to MCQST, each specially targeted to a different audience: a talk for the public interested in scientific discoveries and developments, a Colloquium for the local scientific community, as well as a more specialized seminar for researchers working in the same field.
Get inspired
Upon their visiting MCQST, we sit down with our distinguished lecturers for an in-depth interview about their career paths, inspirations, motivations for research, what drives them, key breakthroughs, and current projects. We invite you to browse through these interviews and get inspired by the passion and curiosity that fuel these remarkable scientists.
Distinguished Lecturer in 2025
Prof. Markus Aspelmeyer of University of Vienna and Scientific Director at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) is awarded MCQST Distinguished Lecturer for 2025.
Quantenphysik und Gravitation – vom Dilemma zum Experiment
Öffentlicher Vortrag - Prof. Prof. Markus Aspelmeyer (Universität Wien) bietet spannende Eiblicke in zwei Welten: Quantenphysik und Gravitation.
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MCQST Colloquium: Markus Aspelmeyer – Distinguished Lecturer
MCQST Colloquium | "How does a quantum object gravitate?" - Markus Aspelmeyer (University of Vienna, Austria)
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Levitated solids in the quantum regime as quantum sources of gravity
Specialized seminar by Prof. Markus Aspelmeyer (Univ. of Vienna, IQOQI).
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Distinguished Lecturer in 2024
Prof. Philip Kim of Harvard University is awarded MCQST Distinguished Lecturer for 2024.
© Kim Group / Harvard Physics in Flatland: Searching for New Quantum Materials for Emerging Technologies
Public Talk by MCQST Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Philip Kim (Harvard University)
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MCQST Colloquium: Philip Kim – Distinguished Lecturer
MCQST Colloquium | Philip Kim (Harvard University)
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Thermal and Thermoelectric Transport in Low-Dimensional Materials
Specialized seminar by Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Philip Kim (Harvard University)
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Philip Kim: "I am sure there are many more surprises waiting to be discovered."
MCQST awarded physicist Philip Kim the 2024 Distinguished Lecturer award. During his visit, we discussed his pioneering research on 2D materials, particularly on graphene.
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Distinguished Lecturer in 2023
Prof. Andreas Wallraff of ETH Zurich is awarded MCQST Distinguished Lecturer for 2023. The prize acknowledges Prof. Wallraff's scientific achievements in the field of quantum science and technology, as well as his commitment to communicate recent developments to a broader public.
The award ceremony took place during the public talk event on 12 June 2023 at the Kuntlerhaus München. Below you can find an overview of the talks held by Andreas Wallraff during his visit to MCQST. Also, on our Quantum Science Blog you can read an interview with the famous physicist.
© ETH Zurich / D. Winkler Quantencomputer. Wer, wie, was, wieso, weshalb, warum?
Öffentlicher Vortrag - Prof. Andreas Wallraff (ETH Zürich) gibt Einblicke in der Welt der Quantencomputern.
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© MCQST / Christoph Hohmann MCQST Colloquium: Andreas Wallraff
MCQST Colloquium | Andreas Wallraff (ETH Zurich)
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Specialized seminar by Andreas Wallraff
Seminar on "Quantum Error Correction for Quantum Information Processing with Superconducting Circuits " Prof. Andreas Wallraff (ETH Zurich).
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© C. Hohmann / MCQST Andreas Wallraff: "This perseverance is what distinguishes our group"
MCQST awarded physicist Andreas Wallraff the Distinguished Lecturer award. During his visit, we discussed research breakthroughs, the potential of quantum computing, exploring his perseverance, and passion for science communication.
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Distinguished Lecturer in 2022
Prof. Mikhail Lukin of Harvard University was awarded MCQST Distinguished Lecturer for 2022.
Mikhail Lukin Specialized Seminar
POSTPONED - "Exploring topological matter and lattice gauge theories using programmable quantum simulators" by Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Mikhail Lukin
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© C. Hohmann / MCQST Mikhail Lukin Public Lecture
"New Frontier of Quantum Science and Engineering" by Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Mikhail Lukin
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© Christoph Hohmann / MCQST MCQST Colloquium: Mikhail Lukin
MCQST Colloquium | Mikhail Lukin - Professor of Physics at Harvard University
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Mikhail Lukin: Entering a New Quantum World
MCQST awarded physicist Mikhail Lukin the Distinguished Lecturer award in May 2022. We sat down with him to discuss how he began his career and what the future of quantum machines may look like.
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Distinguished Lecturer in 2021
Prof. Dorit Aharonov of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem was honored as MCQST Distinguished Lecturer in 2021. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the colloquium took place online, with the public talk and specialized seminar being re-cheduled to take place in Munich, in early 2024.
© Christoph Hohmann / MCQST MCQST Colloquium: Dorit Aharonov
MCQST Colloquium | Dorit Aharonov - Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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© C. Hohmann / MCQST The Quantum Computing Revolution
Public Talk - "The Quantum Computing Revolution" by Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Dorit Aharonov.
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The Search for Evidence of Quantum Advantage
Specialized seminar by Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Dorit Aharonov.
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Distinguished Lecturer in 2020
Prof. Pascale Senellart of the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology was honored as MCQST Distinguished Lecturer in 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, her talks all took place in 2021. See below for more information.
MCQST Colloquium: Pascale Senellart
Online Colloquium | Pascale Senellart - Professor at CNRS-C2N Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Paris, France.
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Semiconductor Quantum Dots: From Quantum Light Sources to Quantum Thermodynamics
Specialized seminar by Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Pascale Senellart
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Photons: The Quantum Link
Public talk by Distinguished Lecturer Prof. Pascale Senellart
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Pascale Senellart: "I have to do quantum physics"
Pascale Senellart developed a method to efficiently generate single photons using quantum dots. She discussed her career, her quantum tech startup, and her life in this interview.
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Distinguished Lecturer in 2019
John Preskill, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Director of the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM), is awarded as Distinguished Lecturer by MCQST. The prize is acknowledging John Preskill’s scientific achievements in the field of quantum information theory as well as his engagement to communicate recent developments in quantum science and technology to a broader public.
The award ceremony took place during the event on 7 October 2019 at Deutsches Museum. Below you can find an overview of the talks held by John Preskill during his visit to MCQST. Also, on our Quantum Science Blog you can read an interview with the famous physicist.
Quantum Computing and the Entanglement Frontier
Public talk by Prof. John Preskill.
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John Preskill: Quantum Computing in the NISQ Era and Beyond
Visiting Caltech Professor, John Preskill will kick-off the MCQST Colloquium Series.
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The ghost in the radiation: Robust encodings of the black hole interior
Specialized seminar by Prof. John Preskill.
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John Preskill
MCQST awarded John Preskill the Distinguished Lecturer prize in 2019. We sat down to talk about the scientist's career, continuos passion and curriosity for quantum science, and a bet with Stephen Hawking.
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