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Physicist Dr. Thomas Bracht receives the Karl Arnold Prize

© NRW Academy​/​Bettina Engel-Albustin
At the award ceremony: (from left) Dr. Thomas Förster from the Foundation of Friends and Sponsors of the Academy, TU Rector Prof. Manfred Bayer, Prof. Doris Reiter, Dr. Thomas Bracht, Prof. Dagmar Bruß from the University of Düsseldorf and Academy President Prof. Gerd Heusch.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts has awarded this year's 10,000 euro prize to Dr. Thomas Bracht. The physicist has been working at TU Dortmund University since 2022 and receives the Karl Arnold Prize 2025 for his research in the field of quantum physics.

Dr. Thomas Bracht's research, first at the University of Münster and later at TU Dortmund University, focused on the question of how best to generate single photons, which are required for quantum communication. His dissertation entitled "Theory of Advanced Excitation Schemes for High-Fidelity Photon State Generation from Quantum Emitters" was supervised by Prof. Doris Reiter, who joined the Department of Physics at TU Dortmund University in 2022. In it, Dr. Thomas Bracht focuses on a method that is both theoretically surprising and practically relevant: the so-called "Swing-UP-of quantum EmitteR (SUPER)" process could generate twice as many single photons as typical methods. The North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts emphasizes that the results of the dissertation could be directly translated into powerful technical developments, for example in the field of tap-proof quantum communication. They also inspire scientists worldwide to develop new research approaches. Dr. Thomas Bracht is currently working as a postdoc in the Quantum Technology department of Dr. Moritz Cygorek at TU Dortmund University.

About the Karl Arnold Prize

Every year, the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts awards the Karl Arnold Prize in recognition of outstanding research work or artistic achievement by young researchers and artists. The prize is named after the Academy's founder, Minister President Karl Arnold. It was first awarded in 1990. The Karl Arnold Prize is endowed with 10,000 euros. The prize money is provided by the Foundation of Friends and Sponsors of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts.