News archive of 2026

The application of surface acoustic waves is widespread. The spectrum ranges from modern communication technologies, for example wireless data transmission with smartphones, to the life sciences, where tiny amounts of matter are examined. The importance of surface acoustic wave technologies will continue to grow, according to more than fifty leading researchers from around the world who contributed to the current publication 2026 Guided Acoustic Wave Roadmap. The publication provides an overview of the advances and developments in the dynamically growing research field of acoustic waves in solids.

We congratulate Prof. Christian Weinheimer on his election to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He is now the 25th active member from the University of Münster.
Christian Weinheimer investigates the properties of extremely light neutrinos—by far the lightest and most abundant elementary particles in the universe—and searches for the elusive dark matter. Both topics play key roles in addressing fundamental open questions in particle physics as well as in understanding the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to its present structure. The methods and technologies he has developed for increasingly sensitive experiments are also being applied in other fields.

We also congratulate Prof. Harald Fuchs on his admission as a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and as an “Elected Distinguished Fellow” of the International Engineering and Technology Institute.
In honor of Prof. Fuchs, the Department of Physics is hosting the “Symposium on Frontiers in Nano-Science - From Quantum Science to Nanophotonics, Precision Chemistry and Biomolecular Architecture” on April 29.
Further information for interested parties and registration at: https://www.uni-muenster.de/Physik.PI/Fuchs/Symposium.html
 

 
Es war ein Freitagnachmittag und Harald Fuchs freute sich aufs Wochenende, als er einen Anruf aus der Schweiz erhielt. Am Apparat war Gerd Binnig vom IBM-Forschungslabor in Rüschlikon bei Zürich. Am Montag, so erfuhr der damals frisch promovierte Physiker Harald Fuchs, solle er sich bei IBM einfinden und einen Vortrag über seine Doktorarbeit halten.
 

We welcome Prof. Dr. Matthias Kleinmann as a new professor at the Department of Quantum Technology. He leads the research group for the Foundations of Quantum Theory, where he investigates the theoretical basis of quantum physics and its structure as an operational physical theory. The primary goal of his work is to precisely formulate and better understand the principles of quantum mechanics to enable both new experimental tests and future quantum technological applications.

Prof. Tobias Heindel from the Department for Quantum Technology at the Faculty of Physics has realised a cryptographic building block with research teams from the Technical University of Berlin and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China, which may extend the functionality of the future quantum internet. In an interview with Christina Hoppenbrock, he gives insights into the current study.

What happened shortly after the Big Bang? Scientists around the world are investigating this question, for example at the CERN nuclear research center in Geneva. Physicists at the University of Münster are also participating in this research: they helped set up the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and are evaluating the measurement data. On March 6 (Friday), students aged 15 and older will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of the smallest particles.

Der Physiker Dr. Thomas Seidel erhält für seine an der Universität Münster mit „summa cum laude“ bewertete Dissertation den mit 3.000 Euro dotierten Infineon-Promotionspreis 2026. Diese Auszeichnung für herausragende Promotionsleistungen wird jährlich vom Fachbereich Physik gemeinsam mit der Infineon AG vergeben. Die Dissertation von Thomas Seidel ist relevant für die moderne Photonik.

PhD student Berit Schlüter provides an insight into her everyday life and the installation of the “IceCube Upgrade” for neutrino research.

Since December 2025 I‘ve been living and working at the South Pole – the coldest place on Earth. There are a lot of special challenges involved, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sunshine, blue sky, no day/night rhythm, ice and snow, and temperatures constantly at 30° C below zero: that’s the Antarctic in the summer, while it’s winter in Europe.

A team led by Prof Martin Salinga has mapped the energy landscape of germanium telluride, gaining deep insights into the behaviour of the material. The findings could contribute be interesting, for example, for realising very dense networks of memory cells.