Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder: “Bavaria is a high-tech state – and Professor Bloch is a pioneer of quantum science and a world-leading researcher: his research in the interdisciplinary field of quantum many-body systems is in the running for a Nobel Prize. Moreover, as Director of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching and Chair of Experimental Physics and Quantum Optics at LMU in the Munich Quantum Valley, Prof. Bloch’s work is an important part of the Bavarian High-Tech Agenda. The outstanding development of Bavaria’s quantum ecosystem is also his achievement!
With the High-Tech Agenda we set standards and are investing 5.5 billion € in fields such as quantum technology, aerospace, AI and cleantech. It is this unique interplay that paves the way for the work of scientists like Prof. Bloch who, through his research, excellence and innovative strength has become a true role model – and now also a high-tech ambassador for Bavaria!“

Prof. Dr. Immanuel Bloch is considered a pioneer of a new interdisciplinary research field at the interface of quantum optics, quantum information processing, and solid-state physics for the study of quantum many-body systems. Bloch received his Ph.D. from LMU München under Nobel Laureate Theodor Hänsch on atom lasers and phase coherence of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. Since 2009, he has been Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching and Chair of Experimental Physics and Quantum Optics at LMU München. In 2005, he was the youngest recipient of the Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and was awarded the Maximilian Order for Science and Art in 2021. As one of the most cited scientists in his field, he is considered a top contender for the Nobel Prize.