Rudolf Gross becomes new Scientific Director of Munich Quantum Valley


On 1 August 2023, Prof. Dr. Rudolf Gross becomes Scientific Director of Munich Quantum Valley (MQV) and Managing Director of Munich Quantum Valley e.V.. The physicist will take over the tasks from Prof. Dr. Rainer Blatt, who hands over the baton to Rudolf Gross after about two years.

Rudolf Gross has been Scientific Director at the Walther-Meißner Institute of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities since 2000. At the same time, he took over the Chair of Technical Physics at the Technical University of Munich. His research interest focusses on low-temperature solid-state physics. He is particularly interested in quantum phenomena in superconducting and magnetic materials and their application in hardware systems for quantum computing, sensing and communication.

For about 20 years, Rudolf Gross has been advancing quantum science and technology in Bavaria in various coordinated research projects. He was spokesperson of the Collaborative Research Center on Solid-State Based Quantum Information Processing (2003–2015), board member of the Cluster of Excellence "Nanosystems Initiative Munich" (NIM) (2006–2018) and is currently one of the three spokespersons of the Cluster of Excellence "Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology" (MQCST). In addition, he contributes his expertise to several scientific advisory boards.

Activities within the MQV

Rudolf Gross has been closely associated with Munich Quantum Valley from the very beginning: Together with Immanuel Bloch, Ignacio Cirac, Klaus Blaum and Raoul Klingner, he authored the strategy paper that led to the foundation of MQV. Since 2021, he is member of MQV and coordinates the Quantum Technology Park & Entrepreneurship (QTPE) consortium. He is also Principal Investigator within the two MQV lighthouse projects "Networked Quantum Systems" (NeQuS) and "Integrated Spin Systems for Quantum Sensors" (IQ-Sense).

„The task to lead MQV as its Scientific Director is just as fascinating as demanding“, says Prof. Gross. „Munich and Bavaria as a whole is one of the leading places in quantum science and technology and I am very happy to contribute now to the transformation of quantum technologies into useful applications and economic success. To achieve this we need staying power and also must break new grounds. However, I am convinced that the efforts are worth it“, he adds.  

Thanks to Prof. Dr. Rainer Blatt

Munich Quantum Valley would like to sincerely thank Prof. Dr. Rainer Blatt for his excellent leadership and collaboration during the initial two years of the project. His great expertise and deep commitment helped the project to a successful start and visibility in the quantum community and beyond.