LMU attracts leading international researchers for its SyNergy, MCQST, and e-conversion 2.0 Clusters of Excellence.

Three new Mercator Fellows from the Universities of Harvard, Princeton, and Cambridge will be strengthening research at LMU and its Clusters of Excellence: stem cell biologist Paola Arlotta in the SyNergy cluster, quantum physicist Andrei Bernevig in the MCQST cluster, and nano-researcher Jeremy J. Baumberg in the e-conversion 2.0 cluster.
These transnational cooperations are made possible by funding under the German Research Foundation’s “Global Minds in DFG Consortia” initiative, which LMU was able to secure for these three leading researchers. This program forms part of the Global Minds Initiative Germany run by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. The Mercator Fellows Global module enables outstanding scientists from abroad to engage in longer-term collaboration with German research consortia. Funding comprises up to 650,000 euros per fellowship and covers a 15-36 month period within a five-year timeframe.
Prof. Benedikt Grothe, Vice President for the Natural and Life Sciences at LMU, comments: “From the complex processes in the human brain and the quantum world to the interaction between light and matter, our Clusters of Excellence explore fundamental scientific questions of profound relevance to society. Attracting three outstanding international researchers – Paola Arlotta, Andrei Bernevig, and Jeremy J. Baumberg – to pursue this research is a major achievement. It also demonstrates that LMU’s research excellence makes our university an attractive destination for leading researchers from around the world. I am delighted to welcome these three outstanding scientists to LMU.”

Paola Arlotta: researching the resilience of neurons in complex organoids
Paola Arlotta, Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, studies the development of the human brain. She is a pioneer in the field of brain organoids – miniature three-dimensional models of regions of the human brain. The chimeroids developed in her laboratory can contain different types of neurons from various brain regions and even from different people. In the SyNergy Cluster of Excellence, she will collaborate with SyNergy researchers to investigate why certain neurons are particularly susceptible to damage and, above all, which protective mechanisms can be identified in resilient neurons. This research holds great potential, not least for understanding recovery and repair processes after brain injuries. The long-term goal is to improve the survival of neurons after strokes and other forms of brain injury.
“I’m very glad of the opportunity to pursue transnational research with colleagues in Munich to answer these important questions,” says Arlotta. “I also feel very honored to have been selected for a Mercator fellowship, which enables this work in the first place.”

LMU professor and Helmholtz institute director Magdalena Götz, co-spokesperson of the SyNergy cluster, initiated the cooperation. The neurobiologist emphasizes that Arlotta’s expertise in the field of chimeroids opens up new possibilities in brain damage research. “This is an important step toward understanding differences in the responses of patients to brain injuries,” says Götz.

Andrei Bernevig: discovering new quantum materials with AI
Andrei Bernevig, Professor of Physics at Princeton University, is one of the leading theorists in quantum materials. His studies have shaped our understanding of topological materials – that is, materials whose electronic properties can be particularly robust due to fundamental quantum principles. At the MCQST Cluster of Excellence, Bernevig plans to predict and realize new quantum states in collaboration with experimental and theoretical research groups. The focus will be on superconductivity in twisted, atomically thin layers, the dynamics of strongly interacting quantum systems, and the AI-supported search for new twisted quantum materials. To this end, he will combine his theoretical approaches with the possibilities at LMU for investigating quantum materials and for quantum simulation with ultracold atoms.
“I am very excited to join Munich’s exceptional community of theorists and experimentalists,” says Bernevig, “where we can combine fundamental ideas with cutting-edge experiments to discover new quantum states of matter, understand unconventional superconductivity and quantum dynamics, and develop AI-driven approaches to twisted materials discovery.”
MCQST spokesperson Immanuel Bloch, Professor of Experimental Physics, emphasizes: “With Andrei Bernevig we are gaining one of the most creative minds in modern quantum physics. His ideas and our experiments will dovetail perfectly to decode the mechanisms of novel superconductivity and actively engineer quantum matter.” Bloch notes, moreover, that the collaboration will strengthen the international connectivity of LMU and MCQST and open up new prospects for young researchers.

Jeremy J. Baumberg: Studying light for energy conversion
Jeremy J. Baumberg, Professor of Nanophotonics at the University of Cambridge, is one of the world’s leading researchers in nanophotonics and plasmonics. He investigates how light interacts with matter at the smallest length scales. Among other things, this involves the study of nanostructures that concentrate light onto a few nanometers in order to influence chemical reactions or molecular motions. In the e-conversion 2.0 Cluster of Excellence, he will collaborate with research groups from LMU and TUM to investigate how such plasmonically enhanced light fields can be exploited for photocatalysis and energy conversion and how coupled electronic, optical, and molecular excitations can be controlled for specific purposes. Another goal is the development of particularly energy-efficient photonic components that utilize strong light-matter coupling and molecular optomechanics.
“We want to understand how light can be specifically applied at the smallest scales to control chemical processes and open up new pathways for energy conversion,” explains Baumberg.
The cooperation was initiated by Tim Liedl, Professor of Experimental Physics at LMU and member of the e-conversion 2.0 Cluster of Excellence. “Jeremy J. Baumberg is an exceptionally good fit for our cluster, as his research precisely traverses the boundaries between our different research areas,” says Liedl. “His expertise will enable us to forge new connections between nanophotonics, catalysis, optomechanics, and energy conversion, and to collectively address problems that no single discipline can solve on its own.”