Kaiserslautern physicist becomes president of European Magnetism Association

Prof. Dr. Burkard Hillebrands. (Photo: Koziel/TUK)

Physics professor Dr. Burkard Hillebrands has been elected as the new President of the European Magnetism Association (EMA). The association aims to promote research and development of magnetism and magnetic materials in Europe as a umbrella organization. At the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK), Hillebrands is involved in, among other things, the properties and applications of magnon quantum particles and the material properties of magnetic nanosystems. The physicist assumes the presidency with immediate effect. The term of office is three years.

The EMA regularly hosts the largest European conference, the Joint European Magnetic Symposia (JEMS), on magnetism. For early-career scientists, it also offers the European School for Magnetism (ESM) every two years. Additionally, it promotes education and training and fosters collaboration between research and industry in the field of magnetism. Furthermore, it aims to better inform the general public about magnetism and its potential applications. During his term, Professor Hillebrands has set goals including expanding support for young researchers, deepening European cooperation, and strengthening international networking outside Europe.

The Kaiserslautern-based physicist researches phenomena of so-called macroscopic quantum states. His main focus is on supercurrents and magnon quantum particles. These can transport more information than electrons and consume significantly less energy. The Kaiserslautern physicists use them in their work as fast information carriers and transmitters. For this purpose, they have established their own research branch: supermagnonics.

The research of the physicists could be of great importance for technical applications: data processing and storage could become significantly more efficient with these particles in the future. Hillebrands has received an ERC Advanced Grant for his work in this area, one of the highest awards of the European Union.

In addition, the researcher is involved in special research areas (SFB). Together with his Kaiserslautern colleague Professor Dr. Martin Aeschlimann and physicists from Mainz, he works interdisciplinarily in the SFB "Spin +X: Spin in its collective environment" on magnetic effects that are to be transferred into applications, collaborating with chemists, mechanical engineers, and process engineers.

Questions answered by:

Prof. Dr. Burkard Hillebrands
Chair of Magnetism
Email: hilleb(at)physik.uni-kl.de
Phone: 0631-205-4228
Secretary: Sibylle Müller
Email: smueller(at)physik.uni-kl.de
Phone: 0631 205-4262