Join our ongoing research projects

We’re looking for students with sharp minds and an appetite for developing new ideas and for pushing boundaries - to join one of our ongoing research projects.

About us: our group’s research covers a spectrum of fields from the fundamental to the very applied. In particular, we strive to deepen our understanding of quantum science and make use of it.

We have two laboratories and a third under construction. Our UTEM lab uses pulsed lasers to drive a transmission electron microscope. This lab is located at MIKA - the Technion center for electron microscopy.

Our X-ray lab contains a few sources for soft- and hard-X-rays, as well as characterization equipment and advanced detectors, with recent ones that use principles in quantum optics. This lab is located at the Technion solid state institute.

Joint PhD programs


Electrons-Cavity Interactions for Quantum Electron Microscopy


We propose a joint Julich E-RC/Technion position for a PhD student to investigate how quantum interactions inside an electron microscope could lead to entangled electron states which can be used for quantum electron microscopy. Our project relies on creating entanglement between the path of the electrons and other quantum objects such as a cooled-down cavity (see the figure). The project is extremely challenging from both theoretical and practical aspects.

The Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy (ER-C) in Jülich is the German national center of excellence for high electron microscopy and It is the world’s largest and most advanced electron microscopy center.

The AdQuanta group at Technion is one of the world leaders in ultrafast electron microscopy. The group develops unique theoretical capabilities for exploring the physics of novel kinds of electron-photon interactions.

On top of a full PhD fellowship, the position includes a special housing allowance and substantial support for frequent international travels between Germany and Israel.

To apply, kindly forward your CV and a cover letter to:
kaminer@technion.ac.il and a.tavabi@fz-juelich.de

Please note: acceptance to the program necessitates successful interviews at both the Technion and the Jülich Research Center.


Shaping Quantum Wavefunctions in Electron Microscopes


We propose a joint Jülich ER-C/Technion position for a PhD student to develop a laser-based spatial electron phase modulation. In building such a device, we aim to harness electron coherence using interferometry as a key method for lowering the required electron dose in imaging of dose-sensitive materials using high-end electron microscopes.

The Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy (ER-C) in Jülich is the German national center of excellence for high electron microscopy and It is the world’s largest and most advanced electron microscopy center.

The AdQuanta group at Technion is one of the world leaders in ultrafast electron microscopy. The group develops unique theoretical capabilities for exploring the physics of novel kinds of electron-photon interactions.

On top of a full PhD fellowship, the position includes a special housing allowance and substantial support for frequent international travels between Germany and Israel.

To apply, kindly forward your CV and a cover letter to:
kaminer@technion.ac.il and a.tavabi@fz-juelich.de

Please note: acceptance to the program necessitates successful interviews at both the Technion and the Jülich Research Center.


Quantum High-Harmonic Generation


We propose a joint Julich RC/Technion position for an experimentalist PhD student to investigate the interplay of high harmonic generation with quantum optics. Our project aims at building a bridge between two research fields that are usually thought to be disconnected: strong-field physics that relies on large photon numbers, and quantum optics that usually operates with low photon numbers and non-classical properties. This bridge will open a new field in quantum optics, accessing new spectral regimes such as the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) that were seen as almost completely classical. This bridge will also connect quantum optics to new extremes enabling unique correlation measurements on attosecond timescales. Such novel connections will lead to ultrafast measurements with higher accuracy, sub-shot noise interferometry and imaging at extremely high frequency, and completely new regimes of entanglement in photonics.

The Laser Dynamics in Solid group in Jülich is one of the most advanced experimental facilities worldwide in generating ultrafast, extreme-intensity light pulses, and in generation of high harmonics: https://magnetization-dynamics.fz-juelich.de/

The AdQuanta group at Technion is one of the world leaders in ultrafast electron microscopy. The group develops unique theoretical capabilities for exploring the physics of novel kinds of electron-photon interactions: https://kaminer.technion.ac.il/

On top of a full PhD fellowship, the position includes a special housing allowance and substantial support for frequent international travels between Germany and Israel.

To apply, kindly forward your CV and a cover letter to:
kaminer@technion.ac.il and r.adam@fz-juelich.de

Please note: acceptance to the program necessitates successful interviews at both the Technion and the Jülich Research Center.


Free Electrons in Bright Squeezed Vacuum


We propose a joint Julich RC/Technion position for an experimentalist PhD e-student to investigate the interaction between free electrons and squeezed vacuum photonic states. Following breakthroughs in recent years, high e-intensity bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) is within experimental reach. The interaction of free electrons with squeezed light is amplifying the electron interaction with vacuum by millions of times. Thus, interaction of free electrons with BSV can reveal to us the properties of the photonic vacuum and its fluctuations. This discovery will not only provide the first evidence of the impact of vacuum fluctuations on an electron – which is at the very foundations of quantum electrodynamics (QED) – but will also broaden our understanding of how BSV light can amplify strong field processes like high harmonic generation and above threshold ionization.

The Laser Dynamics in Solid group in Jülich is one of the most advanced experimental facilities worldwide in generating ultrafast, extreme-intensity light pulses, and in generation of high harmonics: https://magnetization-dynamics.fz-juelich.de/

The AdQuanta group at Technion is one of the world leaders in ultrafast electron microscopy. The group develops unique theoretical capabilities for exploring the physics of novel kinds of electron-photon interactions: https://kaminer.technion.ac.il/

On top of a full PhD fellowship, the position includes a special housing allowance and substantial support for frequent international travels between Germany and Israel.

To apply, kindly forward your CV and a cover letter to:
kaminer@technion.ac.il and r.adam@fz-juelich.de

Please note: acceptance to the program necessitates successful interviews at both the Technion and the Jülich Research Center.

 

Undergraduate programs


Project 1: UTEM


About the project: We offer projects that deal with cutting-edge electron microscopy and fundamental electron-light interactions in quantum electrodynamics. Specifically, in ultrafast transmission electron microscopy (UTEM), the interaction between light, particles, and matter is probed on extreme time and spatial scales. In this project, we will theoretically develop new methods of microscopy. The student will develop a deep understanding of the underlying light-matter interactions in play inside our microscope and will get exposed to a variety of different physical phenomena from condensed matter to quantum information science. The projects tend to lean on the theoretical side, meaning that they typically contain a large number of mathematical calculations and a considerable amount of code writing.

The UTEM is the primary experimental tool in this research direction. UTEM-related projects can be expanded into a master thesis in time given the dedication and ability of the student. Additionally, if the project is expanded into a multi semestrial project or into a master thesis, the student can get involved with the experimental work on the UTEM.

Contact Person: Ron Ruimy.

Email: ron.ruimy@campus.technion.ac.il.


Project 2: X-Ray


About the project: Scintillators are materials that convert high-energy radiation, such as X-rays and γ-rays, into visible light, and are therefore used for radiation detection. These materials are used widely in industry, from security scanners to medical imaging equipment such as positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT). Scintillators are also used as detectors in particle colliders, nuclear physics laboratories, and cosmology detectors.

These materials are usually been studied in classical terms. The project will combine concepts of quantum materials and quantum optics for future scintillators development.

Contact Person: Shaul Katzanelson.

Email: kshaul@campus.technion.ac.il.


Project 3: Continuous-variable quantum information


About the project: One of the main issues with quantum computers today is their large error probability. Continuous-variable quantum information uses infinite Hilbert spaces to encode quantum information redundantly, enabling quantum error-correction protocols. Recent experiments that showed error correction with continuous-variable systems boosted this field, opening a promising path for practical noisy quantum computation.

The proposed project will pursue new concepts at the foundations of this field, including a search for new physical mechanisms to encode quantum information and control it in a manner robust to errors.

For more information on the projects and the AdQuanta group, you can visit our website at https://kaminer.technion.ac.il/.

Contact Person: Shiran Evan-Haim.

Email: shiranev@campus.technion.ac.il.


Project 4: The Ramanujan Machine


About the project: We started a new team that develops a novel way to do mathematics, by harnessing computer power to make new discoveries. In this project, we combine AI-driven algorithms and beautiful mathematics to find and prove conjectures regarding fundamental constants. The purpose of the research is to build mathematical and algorithmic methods for finding analytical representations for mathematical constants, with the goal that the representation will reveal new relationships between fields in mathematics and possibly open new research directions.

Our recent discoveries in this field have opened research directions for students for undergraduate projects with potential to continue toward MSc and PhD. There are two types of research projects that we offer here: either aiming for pure math or for applications of AI in the field of “AI for science”.

For more information on the projects and the Ramanujan team, you can visit our website at http://www.ramanujanmachine.com/

Contact Person: Carlos De La Cruz.

Email: cadelacruzm@gmail.com.


Project 5: Computational effective field theory


About the project:

  • Become an expert in a recently developed computational tool, which was originally made for applications in quantum field theory.
  • Apply this computational tool for problems in quantum electrodynamics.
  • Contribute to the code and develop computational capabilities for future research in our lab.
Required background:
  • Proficiency in Mathematica
  • A very high grade in the course Analytical Mechanics
  • Experience with covariant vector and tensor calculations
Recommended background:
  • Experience in developing coding infrastructures
  • Advanced courses in quantum mechanics and especially quantum field theory

Relevant reading material will be sent to the candidate before the interview, including links to the git package STrEAM.

Contact Person: Please contact Prof. Ido Kaminer directly.


Project 6: Optimization algorithms for the generation and control of quantum light


About the project:

  • Learn the gradient-descent optimization packages used in quantum optics.
  • Develop our group’s code for superradiance.
  • Contribute to numerical methods focusing on creating quantum states of light, aiming to create the infrastructure code to be used in future projects.
  • Build the algorithm for optimizing the superradiance process in a way that controls the emitted light statistics, aiming at a cat state, GKP state, and other exotic quantum states of light.
Required background:
  • Experience in the programming language Python or Julia
  • High grades in basic courses in quantum mechanics and optics
Recommended background:
  • Background in quantum optics
  • Proficiency in machine learning

Relevant reading material will be sent to the candidate before the interview, including a review paper on superradiance and specific sections from a recent theoretical paper by our group.

Contact Person: Please contact Prof. Ido Kaminer directly.

Graduate and postdoc opportunities

Our group is always open for excellent and enthusiastic students who are interested in solving challenging problems in physics, math, electrical engineering, or material science.

The research involves both theory and experiments, but is flexible enough to be focused on either full-time experimental work, or purely advanced theory.

Do you have?

– Excellent analytical abilities and a love of mathematics

– … and/or a hands-on approach to experiments, and eager to build challenging new experimental setups that does not exist anywhere else in Israel

Then come work with us or help circulate it to anyone interested.

About the Technion

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology was founded in 1912, and has been pioneering Israel’s science and engineering ever since. The Technion’s unique culture has brought it to be ranked among the leading technological universities in the world. Technion alumni are also the main resource of Israel’s start-up economy, making Israel the 2nd most innovative country in the world. Our researchers have won many prestigious international awards over the years, including three Nobel prizes in this century placing it number 10 in the world.

Technion Graduate School

The Technion is located in the city of Haifa. Having the green forests of Mount Carmel next to the sandy beaches make Haifa one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Haifa is the quintessential example of a multicultural city where Jews, Christians, and Muslims live alongside each other in peace. The small size of Israel makes Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem and other interesting sites just a short trip away.

Haifa

Israel