Tobias Kippenberg appointed Full Professor
© 2012 EPFL
At its meeting held in December, the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology appointed eight professors at EPFL.
Tobias Kippenberg has been appointed Full Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, jointly at the School of Basic Sciences (SB) and at the School of Engineering (STI)
Tobias Kippenberg has made major contributions in the areas of quantum optomechanics, as well as in the cooling and practical use of optical microresonators.
Since his arrival at EPFL, Tobias Kippenberg has established an original and independent research program, in particular in the area of frequency combs and cavity optomechanics. He has become one of the driving forces in this totally innovative area which is rapidly expanding. Leading the competition at a global level in the cooling of mechanical oscillators, he has – in parallel – contributed to the establishment of studies that could well lead to new applications in laser technology, but also in optical telecommunications and atomic clocks. Tobias Kippenberg is the recipient of both an ERC starting grant in 2007 as well as an ERC advanced grant in 2012.
Tobias Kippenberg's laboratory, LPQM - attached to Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, explores the ultra-sensitive quantum limits of physical measurements using ultra-high Q optical microresonators. It pushes the limits of detection of micromechanical movements and opto-mechanical phenomena with the aim of studying experimentally the theory of quantum measurement. LPQM scientists develop ultra-sensitive transducers to detect individual molecules in real time without need for labeling. The group is in the forefront of the research on monolithic optical frequency comb for frequency measurement.