From 1 January 2024, Prof Dr Thomas Zentgraf will be the new spokesperson of the CRC TRR 142. The TRR 142-management board unanimously elected the experienced and renowned researcher in the field of ultrafast nanophotonics at Paderborn University (UPB).
Zentgraf, who had been active member of the management board in recent years, will not only continue the aproach of scientific excellence but will also pay particular attention to the promotion of young scientits and equalitiy and inclusion within the CRC: “Since its start in 2014, the CRC TRR 142 has produced many high-ranking and freqently cited publications, as we have proven a very successful partnership between Paderborn University and TU Dortmund University in the field of non linear photonics. I will proudly do my best to lead the CRC until its planned conclusion in 2025 – certainly with some groundbreaking basic research.”
Zentgraf is head of the Ultrafast Nanophotonics Group at UPB and speaker of the Center of Optoelectronics and Photonics Paderborn (CeOPP). He received an ERC Starting Grant from European Commission in 2016, and was granted the fellowship of the Max Planck School of Photonics in 2021.
Prof Dr Christine Silberhorn has not decided to relinquish her role as spokesperson of TRR 142 with a light heart, having led the CRC very successfully for two years into its final funding period. “With my recent appointment to the German Wissenschaftsrat, I have gladly taken on another incredibly rewarding yet responsible position which requires my full attention", Silberhorn notes. "Since I always strive to deliver the best I can, I have realised that even my time is limited. Hence, one sometimes has to make even hard decisions. To give up the role as spokesperson of the TRR 142 was certainly one of the tough ones.”
We wish Prof Dr Zentgraf all the best in his new position.
