Dr. Lukas Neumeier

Lukas is obsessed with questions like “What is reality?”, “What is this all about?”, “What is life?”, and “Who or what am I?”, ever since he can remember. Naively believing that science could satisfy his curiosity he studied physics at Technical University Munich and received his Ph.D. for his work in theoretical quantum nano-photonics at ICFO, Barcelona in 2018. Lukas spent two years in Africa, seven months in South America, five years in Spain and is now back in Allgäu, Germany to take care of his son Valentin. Traveling and exchanging ideas with a lot of incredibly smart and thoughtful human beings (like James 😉 ) fundamentally shaped his view on the nature of reality.  Lukas follows research in quantum physics, artificial intelligence, and neuroscience.

The book Quantum Physics for Hippies reflects his current understanding of the weirdness of reality, and if he could give just a single book to his younger self, this would be it.

Besides quantum physics, Lukas loves nature, traveling, new experiences, dancing, and juicy apples.

Research focus: quantum optics, quantum information, interactions between atoms and light, interactions between light and motion, quantum optomechanics.

Ph.D. Thesis: Novel regimes of quantum optomechanics. link

Featured publications:

1. Neumeier, Lukas, Martin Leib, and Michael J. Hartmann. “Single-photon transistor in circuit quantum electrodynamics.” Physical review letters 111.6 (2013): 063601. link
2. Neumeier, Lukas, Romain Quidant, and Darrick E. Chang. “Self-induced back-action optical trapping in nanophotonic systems.” New Journal of Physics 17.12 (2015): 123008. link
3. Neumeier, Lukas, Tracy E. Northup, and Darrick E. Chang. “Reaching the optomechanical strong-coupling regime with a single atom in a cavity.” Physical Review A 97.6 (2018): 063857. link
4. Neumeier, Lukas, and Darrick E. Chang. “Exploring unresolved sideband, optomechanical strong coupling using a single atom coupled to a cavity.” New Journal of Physics 20.8 (2018): 083004. link
5. Neumeier, Lukas, Mario A. Ciampini, Oriol Romero-Isart, et al. “Fast quantum interference of a nanoparticle via optical potential control.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121.4 (2024): e2306953121. link

Dr. James Douglas

James first found out about quantum mechanics reading an encyclopedia when he was a teenager. He couldn’t believe what he read and has since been fascinated with the weirdness that underlies reality. This lead him to doctoral studies of ultracold quantum gases at Oxford University and then onto research at ICFO in Barcelona, studying quantum nano-photonics. He is also fascinated with the nature of consciousness and whether physics can help us gain a deeper understanding of human experience. Born in New Zealand, he loves being in the mountains, hiking or climbing, and is an explorer by nature, always keen for a new adventure.

Research focus: quantum optics, quantum information, cold atomic gases, nanophotonics, atomic clocks, Rydberg atoms

Publications:

Jun Matsuura

Jun creates art using his bare hands, working mostly with pencil drawing techniques. Born and based in Barcelona, he aims to work in what he enjoys and challenges him at the same time, exploring different media along the way. This leads him to combine different kinds of work, for example, books cover illustrations, the design of illustrations for corporative web sites, storyboards for movies, and Manga comics (Socrates 2018). Having a true passion for drawing means he also does it in his free time, working on his own Graphic novel projects: “Frau Tovarich”, published by La Cupula in 2009 and its sequel, provisionally titled “Für Elise”, which will also be published by La Cupula.