MCQST PhD Award
Recognizing Excellent Early-Career Research
The MCQST PhD Award annually honors outstanding PhD theses (theory and experiment) from the MCQST community. The prize highlights research projects that demonstrate an innovative and cutting-edge approach within the chosen topic or field of study, outstanding personal contributions, and creativity.
A big thank you to last year's sponsors, Quandela and Peak Quantum, for providing €2,000 in prize money to each of the 2025 awardees!
Eligibility
MCQST considers exceptional theses in Quantum Science and Technology that meet the following criteria:
- written in a research group associated with MCQST
- defense date between 1 January and 30 September 2026
- graded summa cum laude
- supported by a letter of recommendation from the supervisor
Award ceremony
The prizes will be presented at the MCQST General Assembly in January 2027 (details will follow).
The winners are invited to give a brief overview of their work to the MCQST community.
How to apply
Please submit your application here.
Required documents (all PDF):
- CV
- PhD certificate
- List of publications
- Thesis full text
In addition, we require a letter of recommendation by your supervisor. The letter must be sent directly to thesis-award[at]mcqst.de before the deadline expires.
Have any questions?
Please feel free to contact thesis-award[at]mcqst.de at any time.
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Awardees
Henning Schlömer
MCQST PhD Award 2025:
Exploring the low-temperature regime of doped Hubbard models – Theoretical insights leveraging quantum simulation
Affiliation: LMU München
Advisor: Fabian Grusdt
Read more in the MCQST news section.
Alexander Ulanowski
MCQST PhD Award 2025:
Cavity-enhanced optical readout and coherent control of the spins of individual erbium dopants
Affiliation: TUM
Advisor: Andreas Reiserer
Read more in the MCQST news section.
Yujie Liu
MCQST PhD Award 2024:
Realization and characterization of topological phases of matter on a digital quantum computer
Affiliation: TUM
Advisor: Frank Pollmann
Read more in the MCQST news section.
Philip Thomas
MCQST PhD Award 2024:
Photonic graph state generation from individual atoms in an optical cavity
Affiliation: MPQ
Advisor: Gerhard Rempe
Read more on the MCQST news section.
Arthur Christianen
MCQST PhD Award 2023:
Chemistry in a quantum medium
MPI of Quantum Optics & TU Munich
Advisor: Prof. Ignacio Cirac
David Wei
MCQST PhD Award 2023:
Microscopy of spin hydrodynamics and cooperative light scattering in atomic Hubbard systems
MPI of Quantum Optics & LMU München
Advisor: Prof. Immanuel Bloch
Johannes Feldmeier
MCQST PhD Award 2022:
Nonequilibrium Dynamics in Constrained Quantum Many-Body Systems
TU Munich
Advisor: Michael Knap
Annabelle Bohrdt
MCQST PhD Award 2021:
Probing Strongly Correlated Many-Body Systems with Quantum Simulation
TU Munich
Advisor: Michael Knap
Benjamin Merkel
MCQST PhD Award 2021:
Enhancing the Emission and Coherence of Erbium Dopants
MPI of Quantum Optics & TU Munich
Advisor: Andreas Reiserer
Johannes Knörzer
MCQST PhD Award 2020:
Semiconductor-Based Electron Lattices for Quantum Information Processing
LMU München & MPI of Quantum Optics
Advisor: J. Ignacio Cirac
Karen Wintersperger
MCQST PhD Award 2020:
Realization of Floquet Topological Systems with Ultracold Atoms in Optical Honeycomb Lattices
LMU München
Advisor: Monika Aidelsburger