Igor Pikovski Receives Branco Weiss International Fellowship

Dr. Igor Pikovski has been selected as one of nine recipients of a 2016 Branco Weiss Fellowship, a fellowship for outstanding postdoctoral researchers awarded by the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). The fellowship grant is unique in that it can be used at any research institution throughout the world. The award provides 100,000 Swiss Francs per year for five years.

As a Branco Weiss fellow, Pikovski will study novel quantum devices and methods to manipulate and control their quantum properties. His main goal is to explore how such systems can help probe the interplay between quantum physics and gravity.

Pikovski joined CfA's Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (ITAMP) in 2014 as a postdoctoral fellow. He studies how quantum phenomena can be controlled and harnessed, for example for tabletop experiments that can shed light on how gravity affects quantum systems. He is also a member of the advisory group for the Breakthrough Starshot initiative.

Society in Science - The Branco Weiss Fellowship was founded in 2002 to provide a platform for researchers in the natural sciences and engineering who aim to extend their scientific work to cover specific social and cultural questions and perspectives. The fellowship was initiated and financed by the Swiss entrepreneur Dr. Branco Weiss, who died in 2010.