Marijin Rikers, who was on a research visit to Australie (left), his wife accepting the prize on behalf of him (right)

Marijn Rikers Awarded ZEISS Ph.D. Award in Modern Optics

for his project "Manipulation of magnetic dipole transitions using dielectric metasurfaces"
Marijin Rikers, who was on a research visit to Australie (left), his wife accepting the prize on behalf of him (right)
Image: Maxwell Bosea, Uni Jena
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Rouwen Kunze speaks at the Zeiss Ph.D.Award ceremony

Image: Maxwell Bosea, Uni Jena

We are thrilled to announce that Marijn Rikers, one of our Meta-Active doctoral candidates at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, has been honored with the prestigious ZEISS Ph.D. Award in Modern Optics. The award ceremony was held on 7 July 2024 in the framework of the Alumni Day of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy and was presented by Mr. Rouwen Kunze from ZEISS AG. The award recognized Marijn's exceptional research in "Modification of Magnetic Dipolar Transitions Using Dielectric Metasurfaces." Marijn started his doctoral project in January 2022 at the Institute of Solid State Physics under supervision of Prof. Isabelle Staude.

In his laudatio, it was highlighted that Marijn's research focuses on developing a new fluorescent electron beam lithography resist incorporating magnetic-dipole emitters. His efforts include the deterministic fabrication of nanoscopic magnetic dipolar emitters and their integration into novel resonant nanostructures for enhanced and controlled directionality of light-matter interactions. This work extends beyond traditional electric dipole approximations, pushing the boundaries of current optical technologies.

Due to Marijn's current research stay at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, his wife, Yue Liu, graciously accepted the award on his behalf at the ceremony.

The ZEISS Ph.D. Award in Modern Optics, which includes a 3,000 euro grant annually, is designed to promote doctoral theses that significantly contribute to the development of modern optics, optoelectronics, or photonics. Last year's award recipient was also a doctoral candidate of Meta-Active: Sebastian Klimmer was recognized for his pioneering work on "Nonlinear optics with out-of-plane excitons in layered materials integrated on metasurfaces." This successive recognition within the Meta-Active program underscores its dedication to fostering impactful research at the forefront of optical sciences.

Marijn Rikers' achievement further highlights the program's commitment to pushing the boundaries of optical sciences and nurturing the next generation of innovative researchers.

Congratulations once again to Marijn Rikers on this well-deserved honor!