Field of Work
The junior research group “Physical Optics” led by Thomas Weiss at the University of Stuttgart works at the interface between the natural sciences and the engineering sciences. It forms part of the research center SCoPE – an association of various institutes that aim to pool their expertise in the highly topical research areas of optics and quantum technologies.
The main focus area of the “Physical Optics” group is theoretical investigation of the optical properties of microstructures and nanostructures. This includes design optimization, the development of progressive simulation methods and gaining a more in-depth understanding of the underlying physical laws based on semi-analytical methods. One particular area of interest is the development and research of hybrid systems combining photonics and quantum technology.
Personal Information
Professor Thomas Weiss was born in Amberg/Upper Palatinate in 1981 and studied physics at the University of Stuttgart before gaining his doctorate through France’s Cotutelle program at the universities of Clermont-Ferrand and Stuttgart with the support of the Franco-German University (DFH). His dissertation on “Progressive numerical and semi-analytical scatter matrix calculations to determine the optical properties of nanostructures” was awarded the DFH’s 2013 Dissertation Award. After postdoc activities at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, he was appointed to the University of Stuttgart in 2013 where he has since been the head of the junior research group “Physical Optics” at the 4th Physics Institute.