Weijian Tao, who was working as postdoctoral researcher in our lab for 2 years left us at the end of last week. He will start another postdoctoral contract in January 2025 in the USA, at Purdue University, in the group of Pr Libai Huang. We thank him for the nice interactions with our group and wish him good luck for the future !
Weijian’s departure lunch at Le Cèdre, Strasbourg
Our group is growing again and we welcomed last week a new postdoc, Sumit Yadav. He was born in the state of Haryana, North-India, and he recently defended his phD in physics at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali. During this phD, he worked on the effects of optical nonlinearity in optical tweezers using femtosecond pulsed lasers and on the application of laser beam shaping in optical tweezers. He will work more closely with LIMACS team, on Mueller polarimetry setup and chiral coupling. Welcome in the lab !
Autumn is the season of falling leaves but also of postdoctoral researchers arrivals and we welcomed this week Kaina Gonçalves Diniz, from Brazil. Kaina came in the context of the CAPES-COFECUB exchange program and will stay about one year in the lab. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he also completed his Master and PhD. He is primarily an experimental physicist, with a research focus on optical tweezers and their applications. He is also interested in chiral nanoparticles and has explored how these particles can be studied in the context of optical trapping. Welcome Kaina !
Since last week, we have the pleasure to welcome a new postdoctoral researcher, John Ricca. John is the first north american postdoc in the lab and was born in Florida. He received his phD in chemistry from Florida Atlantic University in 2024 , where he carried out research in environmental analytical chemistry, biochemistry and physical chemistry.
Welcome to him !
Dr. Salambô Dago (Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) University of Vienna) will visit our lab from today till Friday. Tomorrow, Thursday September 12th at 14:00 am, she will give a seminar at the Centre Européen de Sciences Quantiques (CESQ) on the Cronenbourg campus, entitled :
Two applications of feedback control on a nano and micro-system: Thermodynamic of Information & Optical Levitation in the Dark
A summary of the talk can be downloaded here. Do not hesitate to contact Cyriaque Genet if you would like to meet Dr. Dago during her visit
.
Luis Pires, who spent three years and a half among us, as a phD student and then as a postdoctoral researcher, left the lab mid-July to go back to Brazil. He got a position of assistant professor in the Physics Department at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV).
Congratulations Luis and all the best for your future !
The annual and official ceremony of Strasbourg University for the phD graduation took place on friday 21st of June in the Palais Universitaire. Our freshly graduated students, who all defended during fall 2023, participated and we congratulate them again for this accomplishment !
From left to right : Dr Bianca Patrahau, Dr² Luis Pires and Dr Shahana Nizar Shyla
Photo : Anjali Jayachandran
Last friday we took the time to have a lab outing. Weather was a bit uncertain but we did a nice 15 km walk around the Mont Saint-Odile, with some highlights like an unexpected detailed explanation about Ottrott’s castles, a picnic under the rain, a short visit of Hohenbourg abbey and a miraculous water tasting…. Congratulations to all the hikers !
Following the EMRS spring meeting, we had dinner in La Victoire, like in the good old days, with our alumni present at the conference. It was a pleasure to see you all !
Thomas Ebbesen has been nominated to the Presidential Science Council that advises President Macron on science policy, emerging disciplines, national strategy and priorities. This council was established in December 2023 and he is one of 14 members covering many academic disciplines.
Crédit Photo : Elysée