Explore with us the Light-Matter Roadmap!
Mission Statement
Our research aims to unlock the potential of controlled light-matter interactions by linking material science and quantum optics. Material science vastly relies on oversimplified field approaches and quantum optics is shaped by oversimplified material models, which diminishes their ability to describe many relevant phenomena. By introducing material-specificity to the latter and field-specificity to the former, our research paves the way for simulations of new modes of catalysis, quantum materials, and quantum information devices.
Research
We are working on all things light-matter interaction, from classical to quantum.
Chemistry in Electric Fields
The electromagnetic field is commonly described with less accuracy than the atomic and electronic structure. However, within a family of recently proposed modes of catalysis, the electromagnetic field component is complex and a dynamical participant that can not be treated with the typical approximations. Our group is developing methodological tools and performing simulations that recognize the complexity of the electromagnetic field to identify essential features of its participation in the catalysis.
Polaritonic Chemistry
Polaritonic chemistry is a nascent field that opens up new possibilities for controlling material properties and modifying chemical processes by taking advantage of the strong light-matter interaction that arises when matter is confined in optical cavities. We are exploring fundamental features of non-conventional cavities including their potential to change physio-chemical properties of materials and are developing scalable computational methods alike. For the latter, we are spearheading ab-initio quantum chemistry methods adapted to the explicit treatment of photons.
Quantum Information
Photons are one of the best carriers of quantum information. However, the missing link between realistic experimentally achievable physical systems and the often highly simplified theoretically proposed mechanisms and protocols under perfect conditions hinder photonic qubits from being realized at a large scale. Therefore, we are exploring a material science perspective to the concept of photonic qubits in order to explore the realistic potential of all-optical quantum information processors.
The Team
NORAH HOFFMANN
Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator
Leopoldina Postdoctoral Fellow, 2023 Department of Chemistry at Columbia University, New York
IMPRS Doctoral Fellow, 2020
Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamic of Matter, Hamburg
MUHAMMAD HASYIM
Simons Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD Chemical Engineering, 2023
University of California, Berkeley
BSc Chemical Engineering, 2017
Pennsylvania State University
BSc Engineering Science, 2017
Pennsylvania State University
IRÉN SIMKÓ
Simons Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD Chemistry, 2022
Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
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OLIVER TAN
Graduate Student
B.S. Chemistry and Biology, 2023
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MSc Chemistry, 2019
Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
BSc Chemistry, 2017
Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
JILLIAN HOFFSTADT
Graduate Student
BSc Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2022
University of Michigan
DAVIS WELAKUH
Guest Researcher
Simons Postdoctoral Fellow, 2024
New York University
Postdoc Scholar, 2023
Harvard University
PhD Physics, 2021
Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamic of Matter, Hamburg
Join Us!
Undergraduate Students
You want to start doing research? NYU undergraduate students can contact me here.
Graduate Students
You want to join the team? NYU graduate students can contact me here. Prospective graduate students should apply through NYU GSAS.
Postdocs
Interested in extending your knowledge about theory and simulations of light-matter interaction? Contact me here, we are hiring!