Prof Thomas SCHMIDT

Thomas Schmidt is a full professor at the Department of Physics and Materials Science and leads the group on the Theory of Mesoscopic Quantum Systems (TMQS). At the University of Luxembourg, he is the director of the Doctoral Program of Physics and Materials Science (DPPM) and is the Luxembourgish representative of the trinational Bachelor program in physics (Cursus Intégré SaarLorLux).

His research interests cover a wide area of topics related to mesoscopic quantum systems. He strives to answer fundamental questions but also to develop ideas for applications in the field of quantum technologies. Notable research activities of the past years include (i) topological quantum systems, e.g., hybrid systems consisting of superconductors and quantum Hall systems, (ii) nonequilibrium quantum systems, in particular the role of topology in transport phenomena, and (iii) quantum spin systems, in particular, quantum skyrmions and their application for quantum computing.

Thomas Schmidt regularly teaches lectures for Bachelor and Master students. In the Bachelor program, he currently teaches lectures on Mathematical Methods as well as on Solid-State Theory. At the Master level, he teaches a lecture on Classical and Quantum Transport.

Thomas Schmidt is the Luxemburgish member of the Quantum Community Network of the European Quantum Flagship program and represents the interests of the Luxembourgish stakeholders in Quantum Technologies. In addition, Thomas Schmidt is a co-organizer of the Luxembourgish Physics Olympiad for high-school students. This yearly contest selects the Luxembourgish participants at the International Physics Olympiad.

Thomas Schmidt received the Gustav-Mie award at the University of Freiburg for the best diploma thesis in 2005. In 2011, he received an ambizione grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation. In 2015, he received an ATTRACT grant from the National Research Fund Luxembourg to start his research group at the University of Luxembourg.

Between 2009 and 2012, he worked as a postdoc at Yale University (USA) in the group of Prof. Leonid Glazman. From 2012 to 2015, he worked in the group of Prof. Christoph Bruder at the University of Basel (Switzerland). The postdoc in Basel was funded by an ambizione grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Thomas Schmidt obtained his PhD at the University of Freiburg (Germany) in 2008 under the supervision of Prof. Hermann Grabert and Prof. Andreas Komnik. After postdocs at Yale University (USA) and the University of Basel (Switzerland), he joined the faculty of the University of Luxembourg in 2015.