1 September 2025
The quantum physicist is being recognized for his pioneering contributions to the ultrafast control of electrons.
Peter Hommelhoff has been awarded the Otto Hahn Prize 2025 for his pioneering contributions to the ultrafast control of electrons and the associated establishment of new fields of research. Hommelhoff is Chair Professor of Ultrafast Quantum Physics and Nanophotonics at LMU and MCQST member, while also still professor at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg on a transitional basis. He investigates extremely fast and small-scale processes in physics, particularly regarding the interaction of light and electrons.
His groundbreaking integration of ultrafast optics into electron beam research led to the invention of a femtosecond electron source. To this end, he focused a femtosecond laser beam, consisting of light pulses with a duration of just a quadrillionth of a second, on to a sharp metal tip, producing ultrashort electron pulses of outstanding quality.
Building on the method he had developed, Hommelhoff opened up new fields of research, such as strong-field physics on metal surfaces. This creates new possibilities for researching the properties of these surfaces with unprecedented precision. He also made contributions to quantum electron optics, which makes it possible, for example, to record not only still images but also ‘movies’ with electron microscopes. In addition, Hommelhoff is working intensively on new applications for controlled ultrashort electron pulses in domains such as medicine.
Hommelhoff commenced his undergraduate physics studies at TU Berlin and completed them at ETH Zurich in 1999. He obtained his doctorate at LMU Munich with a dissertation under Theodor Hänsch about generating a Bose-Einstein condensate in a magnetic chip trap (“Bose-Einstein condensates in microchip traps”). In 2023, Hommelhoff moved to Stanford University to work as a postdoc. Returning to Germany in 2007, he led a research group at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Having held a chair at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, he is currently chair professor at LMU.
Source: LMU Website
About the Otto Hahn Prize
The Otto Hahn Prize is jointly awarded by the city of Frankfurt am Main, the German Physical Society (DPG), and the German Chemical Society (GDCh). Its mission is to promote science, especially in the spheres of chemistry, physics, and applied engineering, by recognizing outstanding scientific achievement. The biennial award comes with a prize of 50,000 euros and is presented at a ceremony at St. Paul’s Church in Frankfurt am Main.