Upadhyayula (trained with Eric Betzig at Janelia) develops multifunctional adaptive-optical super-resolution microscopy and the large-scale computational pipelines needed to reconstruct terabyte- to petabyte-scale 3D subcellular dynamics datasets. The group is actively recruiting postdocs.
Urvoy develops cold-atom/optical-nanofiber quantum interfaces for atom-photon entanglement and quantum-memory applications, part of LKB's quantum-network research line alongside Julien Laurat and Hanna Le Jeannic.
Utzat studies the quantum optical properties of single colloidal quantum dots and perovskite nanocrystals, using photon-correlation spectroscopy to characterize and improve their performance as solid-state single-photon sources for quantum photonic applications. The group is actively recruiting postdocs.
Vafabakhsh uses single-molecule FRET to resolve the conformational dynamics of membrane receptors and channels -- including class C GPCRs, adhesion GPCRs, and potassium channels -- as they gate and signal, and applies related single-molecule methods to viral DNA packaging motors and synaptic protein complexes, aiming to build a quantitative, multi-scale picture of synaptic protein organization from the single-molecule to the synapse level.
Toeno van der Sar's group uses NV-centre diamond magnetometry to study correlated spin dynamics and electric currents in magnetic and 2D materials. Research directions: (1) scanning NV magnetometry of topological magnets, 2D magnetic materials (CrI3, Fe3GeTe2), and superconductors; (2) spin-wave (magnon) spectroscopy in magnetic thin films using NV sensors; (3) widefield NV imaging of biological samples and materials. The group develops both NV scanning probes and widefield NV ensembles for nanoscale spatial mapping of magnetic phenomena.
van Loock leads theoretical quantum optics and quantum information at Mainz, with a long-standing focus on continuous-variable quantum optics: squeezed and other nonclassical Gaussian states, non-Gaussian resources such as cat and GKP states, hybrid discrete/continuous-variable encodings, and the error-correction and repeater architectures built on them. The group also works on the fundamental limits of quantum-enhanced measurement and on how nonclassical light can be used as a metrological resource. He is theory-first, with output that directly serves the experimental quantum-optics and trapped-ion groups in Mainz. Relative to the established NV-ensemble quantum-sensing playbook (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry at pT/sqrt(Hz) ensemble sensitivity), the relevance is on the fundamental-light-physics axis rather than the magnetometry axis: this is where the squeezing/nonclassical-state theory sits that would let a spin-ensemble sensor beat the standard quantum limit.
van Slageren's group is one of the leading molecular-qubit labs. They synthesize their own paramagnetic molecules, characterize them with a wide spectroscopic and magnetometric arsenal (multi-frequency and high-field EPR, pulsed EPR/DEER, THz spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry) and back it with ab-initio calculation. Landmarks include room-temperature quantum coherence in a copper(II) molecular qubit, quantitative prediction of nuclear-spin-diffusion-limited coherence times, measurement of coherence in thin films without post-processing, and recent observation of a sizeable spin-electric effect -- electric-field control of a molecular spin state, which is the mechanism you would exploit for a molecular electrometer. Current direction: molecular quantum spintronics, marrying organic spintronics to molecular magnetism. Relative to the established NV-ensemble quantum-sensing playbook (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry at pT/sqrt(Hz) ensemble sensitivity), this is the molecular alternative to the diamond defect: chemically tunable spin qubits whose coherence can be engineered by ligand design rather than by host-crystal purification. Immediate neighbours are Krueger (nanodiamond chemistry) and Wrachtrup (NV readout), both already on file -- an unusually complete local ecosystem.
Astroparticle physicist working on IceCube and the HAWC gamma-ray observatory, developing detector instrumentation and analysis methods for very-high-energy astrophysics.
Willem Vanderlinden uses high-resolution biophysical tools to study protein-nucleic acid interactions. Research: (1) magnetic tweezers for pN-scale force and torque measurements on single DNA molecules and nucleoprotein complexes during retroviral integration, DNA supercoiling, and chromatin remodelling; (2) high-speed AFM imaging of nucleoprotein complexes and chromosomal organisation; (3) quantitative single-molecule statistical analysis of DNA topology. His approach provides cutting-edge spatial resolution to study chromatin biophysics and mobile DNA elements at the single-molecule level.
Vandsburger develops molecular and functional cardiac MRI methods, including CEST-based sensors, to noninvasively image myocardial metabolism, fibrosis, and remodeling with the specificity usually associated with molecular probes rather than conventional anatomical MRI. The lab is actively recruiting postdocs.