Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
I am an optics engineer at Corning Optical Communications in Berlin Adlershof. Previously, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the Astrophotonics Group (innoFSPEC) at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), where I worked on integrated photonic devices for astronomical applications, particularly photonic beam combiners for long-baseline interferometry in the near-infrared. This included instrument development and on-sky tests at the CHARA telescope array on Mount Wilson. Before that, I worked at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH), where I was involved in the development of optical and laser systems for atomic physics experiments in microgravity environments. These included campaigns at the ZARM drop tower in Bremen and on sounding rockets. I contributed to the design, qualification, and launch of two successful missions, and managed the payload development for a nanosatellite project. My responsibilities covered laser integration, system assembly, environmental testing, and experimental control.I earned my PhD in Physics from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, with an experimental thesis on magnetic trapping of cold atoms for atom interferometry.Beyond research, I am passionate about science communication and outreach. I have organized and participated in events such as Girl’s Day lab tours, school workshops, and public exhibitions like the ILA Berlin Air Show. I also co-organized career events for students and early-career researchers (Working in Photonics). During my PhD, I served on the committee of an OPTICA (formerly OSA) student chapter, and was elected an OPTICA Ambassador in 2016.
I joined the Astrophotonics Group at AIP to work on photonic devices for applications on the field of astronomy. This includes characterizing photonic beam combiners for stellar interferometry for multiple telescope inputs in the near-infrared, integrate such devices in astronomical instruments and conduct on-sky tests for verification. As part of our current project, a collaboration with the University of Cologne and Durham University as well as Heriot-Watt University, we work closely with the CHARA Array, a 6-telescope interferometry facility on Mount Wilson, USA. In addition to beam combiners, I am involved in the development of Photonic Lanterns at AIP
Project coordinator, testbed development for heterodyne interferometry.
Micro-integration and characterization of diode lasers for atomic physics experiments in microgravity.
As part of the Quantum Sensors and Space Technology Team, I worked on laser systems for atomic physics experiments in microgravity platforms, which includes drop tower, research rockets and small satellites. My role also incuded mission design, payload design, environmental testing, experiment control and data analysis. As scientific lead I developed designs for a laser system payload for in-orbit deployment onboard a small satellite. For a drop tower experiment, I contributed to a laser system for Bose-Einstein condensate creation and atom interferometry with potassium. The laser system has been tested in the ZARM drop tower, where it is dropped from a height of 110 meters and has to withstand high accelerations during start and landing. I was scientific lead for two laser technology demonstrator experiment to test stabilization and automation methods for extended cavity diode lasers on research rockets. Here, the interplay between hardware and software is important, to ensure autonomous experiment control and frequency stabilization. Press releases: https://www.hu-berlin.de/en/press-portal/nachrichten-en/nr1601/nr_160125_01 https://www.hu-berlin.de/de/pr/nachrichten/nr1701/nr_170123_00 http://www.dlr.de/dlr/de/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-20337/#/gallery/25194 https://www.hu-berlin.de/de/pr/nachrichten/oktober18/nr_181019_01