Barbara Lehner’s presentation entitled "Quantendisco im Supermagnet - Wie ein Quantennetzwerk entsteht" impressed the audience, which also simultaneously served as the jury.

The annual Macke Awards are presented at the Johannes Kepler University Linz in recognition of writing an outstanding Master’s thesis. In order to win the award, the award candidates have to present the content of their thesis to an audience: school students from schools throughout Upper Austria. The students serve as the jury and vote for the best presentation. The presentations are therefore brief, entertaining, funny, and comprehensible for the layperson. The audience enjoyed an entertaining afternoon featuring presentations that provided insight into different areas of physics.

The Winner: Barbara Lehner (LIT Secure and Correct Systems Lab)

Quantum Disco in the Supermagnet - How to Create a Quantum Network
The JKU scientist’s graduate thesis focused on conducting research in the area of quantum dots in a strong magnetic field. As part of future quantum networks, these quantum dots could serve as light sources to transmit and store information.

Additional Finalists:

Mario Graml (Department of STEM Didactics)

Aufruhr in der Quantenwelt — Störung am Elektronensystem
Graml studied electron behavior under the influence of various external disturbances that included, for example, magnetic fields, electric currents and laser irradiation. Graml entertainingly shed light on the various effects.

Sebastian Paischer (Department of Many-Particle Systems)

Tanz der Atome — Spinwellen in ungeordneten Materialie
The physicist focused on collective elementary magnet oscillations and their dispersion in disordered materials. In the future, these so-called spin waves could replace electrons in electronic circuits and store information.

About Barbara Lehner:

Barbara Lehner, 26, is originally from Steyr and currently lives in Hargelsberg (Linz-Land). She enjoys playing the piano as well as gardening.