image: Dr. Melanie Müller
Credit: © Fotostudio Monbijou
After completing her doctorate at the Freie Universität Berlin and her PostDoc studies at the Fritz Haber Institute, she started the group “Ultrafast Scanning Probe Microscopy” in the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute in 2017. Over the last few years, Dr. Müller and her team have been one of a few groups world-wide to establish a state-of-the-art ultrafast microscopy laboratory that integrates advanced ultrafast laser technology with low-temperature atomic-scale microscopy. The newly developed tools allow them to conduct cutting-edge research at the forefront of scientific exploration in the field of ultrafast microscopy of condensed matter.
Dr. Müller's passion for advancing modern research technologies is driven by her vision to address open questions in contemporary condensed matter physics and surface science with novel methodological approaches, with a particular interest in quantum materials. These materials exhibit intriguing physical properties that deviate from classical physics and are governed by strong quantum mechanical interactions between their microscopic degrees of freedom, such as lattice, charge, orbital, and spin. This can lead to the emergence of new and often competing phases of matter with non-trivial and unexpected behavior, including unconventional insulating phases, superconductivity, and conducting states at the boundaries of topological insulators. Understanding and controlling such quantum phases in solids is at the forefront of condensed matter physics and is of great importance for their future integration and use in advanced nanotechnology.
Within the ERC project, Dr. Müller will establish novel experimental approaches to study the ultrafast dynamics of quantum materials with atomic spatial resolution. “We want to understand how correlated or topological quantum states respond to ultrafast external perturbations on their natural length scale and in the presence of defects and atomic-scale spatial inhomogeneities. These are ubiquitous in materials and can even be crucial for the macroscopic dynamics of technologically relevant quantum phases. However, real-space probing of the ultrafast material response at the level of single defects or atoms has just recently become feasible with the groundbreaking developments in ultrafast STM methodology,” says Dr. Müller.
The research goals of the ERC project will be achieved through the combination of ultrafast pump-probe schemes with THz-lightwave scanning tunneling microscopy (THz-STM). A central aspect of her research will be to exploit the emerging ability of THz-STM not only to visualize, but also to coherently control the dynamics of correlated and topological quantum states at the atomic scale using light. The planned research promises to answer exciting and open questions in the understanding of complex solid quantum phases.
About the ERC
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the award of 494 Starting Grants to young scientists and scholars across Europe. The funding, totaling nearly €780 million, supports cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and humanities. It will help researchers at the beginning of their careers to launch their own projects, form their teams, and pursue their most promising ideas. The call for application attracted 3,474 proposals, which were evaluated by peer review panels of internationally renowned researchers. Overall, 14.2% of the proposals were selected for funding.
Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, stated: "The European Commission is proud to support the curiosity and passion of our early-career talent under our Horizon Europe programme. The new ERC Starting Grants winners aim to deepen our understanding of the world. Their creativity is vital to finding solutions to some of the most pressing societal challenges. In this call, I am happy to see one of the highest shares of female grantees to date, a trend that I hope will continue. Congratulations to all!"