Andrei Bernevig Joins MCQST as Mercator Fellow

5 November 2026

Three new Mercator Fellows will strengthen research at MCQST and LMU, among them quantum physicist Andrei Bernevig, who will be visiting Munich for an extended research stay.

These transnational collaborations are made possible by the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) “Global Minds in DFG Consortia” initiative, part of the Global Minds Initiative Germany run by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. The Mercator Fellows Global module enables outstanding scientists from abroad to engage in longer-term collaboration with German research consortia. Funding comprises up to 650,000 euros per fellowship and covers a period of 15 to 36 months within a five-year timeframe. LMU secured funding for three leading researchers.

Andrei Bernevig: discovering new quantum materials with AI

Andrei Bernevig, Professor of Physics at Princeton University, is one of the leading theorists in quantum materials. His studies have shaped our understanding of topological materials – that is, materials whose electronic properties can be particularly robust due to fundamental quantum principles. At the MCQST Cluster of Excellence, Bernevig plans to predict and realize new quantum states in collaboration with experimental and theoretical research groups. The focus will be on superconductivity in twisted, atomically thin layers, the dynamics of strongly interacting quantum systems, and the AI-supported search for new twisted quantum materials. To this end, he will combine his theoretical approaches with the possibilities at LMU for investigating quantum materials and for quantum simulation with ultracold atoms.

“I am very excited to join Munich’s exceptional community of theorists and experimentalists,” says Bernevig, “where we can combine fundamental ideas with cutting-edge experiments to discover new quantum states of matter, understand unconventional superconductivity and quantum dynamics, and develop AI-driven approaches to twisted materials discovery.”

MCQST spokesperson Immanuel Bloch, Professor of Experimental Physics, emphasizes: “With Andrei Bernevig we are gaining one of the most creative minds in modern quantum physics. His ideas and our experiments will dovetail perfectly to decode the mechanisms of novel superconductivity and actively engineer quantum matter.” Bloch notes, moreover, that the collaboration will strengthen the international connectivity of LMU and MCQST and open up new prospects for young researchers.

Read the full announcement on the LMU website.

We look forward to welcoming Andrei Bernevig to MCQST!