Prof. Dr. Thomas Elsaesser
thomas.elsaesser(at)mbi-berlin.de
+49 30 6392 1403
C: Precision Physics
Haus C, 3.8
Position
Director emeritus, Max-Born-Institut für Nichtlineare Optik
und Kurzzeitspektroskopie im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Professor emeritus for Experimental Physics at the
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
Research
Ultrafast phenomena in condensed matter, in particular molecular liquids, polyatomic molecules, organic and inorganic solids and nanostructures:
- Generation and application of ultrashort pulses in a wide spectral range (THz to hard x-ray),
- Nonequilibrium dynamics of elementary excitations in solids, coherent charge transport,
- Ultrafast vibrational processes in hydrogen bonds and other molecular systems,
- Ultrafast x-ray diffraction.
Curriculum vitae
| since 2019 | Principal Investigator, ERC Advanced Grant BIOVIB |
| 1994-2022 | C4/W3-S-Professor for Experimental Physics at the Humboldt University |
| 1993-2022 | Director at the Max-Born-Institute |
| 1991 | Habilitation in Physics at the Technical University of Munich |
| 1990 | Postdoctoral research at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ, USA |
| 1986-1993 | Research associate (Akademischer Rat and Oberrat) at the Physics Dept. E11 |
| 1982-1986 | PhD work at the Physics Department E11 of the Technical University of Munich (Prof. W. Kaiser). Thesis on 'Picosecond infrared spectroscopy of molecules and semiconductors' |
| 1982 | Diplom in Physics, Technical University of Munich |
| 1979 | Vordiplom in Physics, University of Heidelberg |
| 1957 | born in Tübingen, Germany |
Honors and awards
| 2022 | Ahmed Zewail Award for Ultrafast Science and Technology (American Chemical Society) |
| 2022 | Visiting Professor SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA |
| 2019 | ERC Advanced Grant BIOVIB |
| 2019 | Chercheur invité international at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (Physics Dept.) |
| 2017 | Professeur invité at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (Physics Dept.) |
| 2017 | Outstanding Referee American Physical Society |
| 2017 | Guest Editor, Chemical Reviews (American Chemical Society): Ultrafast Processes in Chemistry |
| 2016 | Ellis R. Lippincott Award (Optical Society, Coblentz Society, Society for Applied Spectroscopy) |
| 2015 | TRVS Lifetime Achievement Award (Int. Conference on Time-Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy) |
| 2012 | Professeur invité at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (Physics Dept.) |
| 2012 | Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics |
| 2012 | George Fisher Baker Lectureship Symposium on Water, Cornell University, USA |
| 2011 | Fellow of the American Physical Society |
| 2010 | Innovation Prize Berlin Brandenburg for femtosecond x-ray plasma source, Institute for Scientific Instruments GmbH, Berlin-Adlershof, and MBI |
| 2010 | Regular Member Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences |
| 2009 | ERC Advanced Grant ULTRADYNE |
| 2009 | Morino Lecturer for Chemical Physics (Morino Foundation, Japan) |
| 2009 | Fellow of the Optical Society of America |
| 2006 | Lecturer, Frontiers in Chemical Research, Texas A&M University |
| 2006 | Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Lecture, MPI f. Biophysikalische Chemie, Göttingen |
| 2004 | Professeur invité at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (Chemistry Dept.) |
| 2003 | Lecturer, Swiss Graduate Schools in Chemistry, Convention intercantonale romande |
| 1995 | Otto-Klung-Prize in Physics (Otto Klung Foundation) |
| 1991 | Rudolf-Kaiser-Prize (Stifterverband/Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft) |
| 1986 | Prize for the best PhD thesis in physics (Bund der Freunde TU Munich) |
Professional Affiliations
- Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft
- American Physical Society
- Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte (GDNÄ)
Professional Service
- Member, Board of Trustees, Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching
- Chair of the International Advisory Committee, Conference on Time-Resolved Vibrational Spectroscopy (TRVS)
- Associate Editor, Science Advances (AAAS)
- Associate Editor, Structural Dynamics (AIP)
- Member, Editorial Board Chemical Physics Letters
- Chair, TELOTA Steering Group, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences
- Secretary of the Mathematics and Science Class, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (2018-2024)
- Member Standing Committee for the Evaluation of Max Planck Centers, Max Planck Society (2021-2023)
- Member, FXE Proposal Review Panel, European XFEL (2017-2023)
- Member, Scientific Policy Committee SLAC, Menlo Park (2017-2022)
- Elected Member, Management Board GDNÄ (2015-2022)
- Member, LCLS Proposal Review Panel for Hard Condensed Matter (2015-2021)
- Chair, Prize Committee Ellis R Lippincott Award, OSA (2016-2018)
- Member, Editorial Board, The Journal of Chemical Physics, AIP (2015-2017)
- Divisional Associate Editor, Physical Review Letters (2009-2015)
- Member, Editorial Board New Journal of Physics (2009-2014)
- Member, Editorial Board Chemical Physics (2001-2014)
- Conference Chair, International Conference on Ultrafast Structural Dynamics 2012, Berlin
- Organizer, 6th International Conference on Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy (CMDS 2012), Berlin
- Vertrauensdozent of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (2007-2013)
- Member, Editorial Board Applied Physics A (1996-2011)
- Member, Steering Committee, ESF Network DYNA: Ultrafast structural dynamics in physics,
- chemistry, biology and materials science (2005-2010)
- Member, Scientific Advisory Board PULSE, Stanford, USA (2008-2009)
- Director at large, Optical Society of America (2007-2009)
- Member, Scientific Advisory Board ELBE (free electron laser, FZ Rossendorf, 2004-2009)
- Coordinator, DFG Topical Research Program 1134 'Ultrafast x-ray diffraction' (2002-2008)
- Member, Scientific Advisory Board BESSY (2004-2008)
- Member, Beamtime Committee BESSY (2005-2008)
- Member, Facility Access Panel, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, UK (2003-2008)
- Member, Apparateausschuss Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, 2001-2006)
- Member of numerous program and advisory committees of international conferences
- General Chair, Ultrafast Phenomena XII, Charleston 2000
- Program Chair, Ultrafast Phenomena XI, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1998
- Organizer, HCIS-10, Nonequilibrium Carrier Dynamics in Semiconductors, Berlin 1997
- Member, Steering Committee, ESF Network ULTRA: Femtochemistry and Femtobiology (2000-2003)
- Member, Committee Ellis R. Lippincott Award (Optical Society of America, 2002-2004)
- Member, Committee Gustav-Hertz-Prize (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, 1997-2002)
- Topical Editor Ultrafast Phenomena, Journal of the Optical Society of America B, 1995-2000
- Chairman of Sektion D, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, 1998-1999
- Member, Quantum Electronics Division, European Physical Society, 1995-1998
More than 500 publications in refereed journals and books, 6 patents, more than 400 invited talks at conferences, colloquia, and seminars.
MBI Publikationen
- Femtosecond intramolecular proton transfer in the condensed phase Femtosecond Chemistry Verlag Chemie, Weinheim (1995) 563-579
- Vibrational and vibronic dynamics of large molecules in solution studied on a 20 fs time scale Chemical Physics Letters 244 (1995) 164-170
- Transient states of an intramolecular proton transfer cycle studied by degenerate four-wave mixing J. Phys. Chem. 99 (1995) 4380-4385
- Fast recombination processes in lead chalcogenide semiconductors studied via transient optical nonlinearities Journal of Applied Physics 77 (1995) 277-286
- Polarization-mode dynamics in strained 1.3 µm InGaAsP/InP lasers under picosecond current modulation Opt. Commun. 118 (1995) 323-328
- The role of coherence in the photogeneration process of hot carriers Hot Carriers Semiconductors IX Plenum, New York (1995) 199-205
- Resonance Raman studies of heterocyclic aromatic compounds showing ultrafast intramolecular proton transfer J. of Raman Spectrosc. 26 (1995) 607-615
- Stimulated emission in multi-valley lead salts with star degeneracy lifted by strain and magnetic fields Inst. Phys. Conf. Ser. 144 (1995) 135-139
- Threshold of stimulated emission in multi-valley lead salts Journal of Applied Physics 78 (1995) 7247-7254
- Ultrafast thermalization of nonequilibrium hole plasma in p-type tetrahedral semiconductors Phys. Rev. B 51 (1995) 17490-17498
- Excitonic and free-carrier polarizations of bulk GaAs studied by femtosecond coherent spectroscopy Phys. Rev. B 49 (1994) 16372-16380
- Resonance Raman and femtosecond absorption studies of vibrational relaxation initiated by ultrafast intramolecular proton transfer Chemical Physics Letters 229 (1994) 340-346
- Coherent excitonic and free-carrier polarizations of bulk GaAs studied by femtosecond photon-echo spectroscopy Semicond. Sci. & Technol. 9 (1994) 425-428
- Ultrafast thermalization of hot holes studied femtosecond infrared spectroscopy Lietuvos fizikos zurnalas 34 (1994) 126-129
- Nonequilibrium dynamics of holes in p-type germanium studied by femtosecond infrared spectroscopy Ultrafast Phenomena IX Springer Berlin (1994) 383-384
- Ultrafast thermalization of nonequilibrium holes in p-type germanium studied by femtosecond infrared spectroscopy Phys. Rev. B 49 (1994) 17007-17010
- Ultrafast coherent generation of hot electrons studied via band-to-acceptor luminescence in GaAs Phys. Rev. Lett. 73 (1994) 1687-1690
- Femtosecond coherent generation of hot electrons monitored via band-to-acceptor luminescence in GaAs Ultrafast Phenomena IX Springer Berlin (1994) 358-359
- Coherent excitonic and free carrier dynamics in bulk GaAs and heterostructures Coherent Optical Interactions in Semiconductors Plenum Press New York (1994) 33-63
- Femtosecond intramolecular proton transfer in hydrogen bonded systems Ultrafast Reaction Dynamics and Solvent Effects American Institute of Physics, New York (1994) 240-254
- Femtosecond coherent spectroscopy of excitonic and free carrier polarizations in bulk GaAs Ultrafast Phenomena IX Springer Berlin (1994) 366-367
- Relaxation processes of hot holes in Ge and GaAs investigated by ultrafast infrared spectroscopy Semicond. Sci. & Technol. 9 (1994) 689-693
- Femtosecond proton transfer in the electronic ground state of vibrationally hot molecules Ultrafast Phenomena VIII Springer Berlin (1993) 589-591
- Hot carriers in semiconductors studied via picosecond optical nonlinearities in the infrared Frontiers in Nonlinear Optics, the Sergei Akhmanov Memorial Hilger Bristol (1993) 84-106
- Ultrafast recombination processes in lead chalcogenide semiconductors studied via picosecond optical nonlinearities Semicond. Sci. Technol. 8 (1993) 305-308
- Coherent optical polarization of bulk GaAs studied by femtosecond photon-echo spectroscopy Phys. Rev. Lett. 71 (1993) 77-80
- Hot hole capture by shallow acceptors in p-type GaAs studied by picosecond infrared spectroscopy Ultrafast Phenomena VIII Springer Berlin (1993) 416-417
- Generation of synchronized femtosecond pulses independently tunable in the mid-infrared Opt. Commun. 102 (1993) 447-451
- Ultrafast thermalization of photoexcited carriers in polar semiconductors Phys. Rev. B 47 (1993) 4226-4237
- Capture of hot holes by shallow acceptors in p-type GaAs studied by picosecond infrared spectroscopy Phys. Rev. B 47 (1993) 12498-12509