GSC 21:  Karlsruhe School of Optics & Photonics (KSOP)

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics ; Chemical Solid State and Surface Research ; Electrical Engineering and Information Technology ; Mechanics and Constructive Mechanical Engineering
• Term: from 2006 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 24080877

Optics and photonics are driven by fascinating scientific challenges, unexpected breakthroughs, and by a more than hundred billion euros annual market. Moreover, being enabling technologies, optics and photonics drive other disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, as well as electrical and mechanical engineering. Unfortunately, Germany - like most other countries - has a substantial shortcoming regarding education in this field. Thus, the Karlsruhe School of Optics Photonics (KSOP) envisions a novel combined masters programme, funded by our university, and a PhD programme, funded by the excellence initiative. Future academic and industrial leaders operating at the boundary between science and engineering will be trained. The activity is supported by twelve professors and more than ten other principal investigators from all of the above mentioned disciplines from our university and partner institutions. Together, they cover the research areas of KSOP: photonic materials devices, advanced spectroscopy, biomedical photonics and optical systems. The three-year elite and interdisciplinary PhD thesis work comprises the research project, compulsory modules, as well as elective modules. We have already newly developed a number of technical and scientific modules in each of the four KSOP research areas. Each technical module is a compact two-week hands-on course in areas of direct relevance to the research. In addition, further emphasis is laid on management skills, which will be taught as mandatory management modules within the Hector School of Engineering and Management, a recently founded branch of the International Department of the Universität Karlsruhe (TH). The programme also comprises a newly developed mentoring concept. In addition to this transdisciplinary networking is considered to be a key element of the programme. On the one hand this is instigated by the different modules. On the other hand the regular active participation in working group ensures the communication between the PhD students based in different institutes.

• DFG Programme: Graduate Schools
• Applicant Institution: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
• Participating Institution: FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik; Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT); International Department gGmbH; Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW)
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Ulrich Lemmer
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Martin Bastmeyer; Professor Dr. Stefan Bräse; Professor Dr. Olaf Dössel; Privatdozent Dr. Hans-Jürgen Eisler; Dr. Judith Elsner; Professor Dr. Claus Feldmann; Dr. Regine Frank; Professor Dr. Heinz Kalt; Professor Dr. Manfred Kappes; Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Koos; Professor Dr. Thomas Leisner; Professor Dr. Jürg Leuthold; Professor Dr. Timo Mappes; Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Mohr; Professor Dr. Cornelius Neumann; Professor Dr. Gerd Ulrich Nienhaus; Professor Dr. Johannes Orphal; Professor Dr.-Ing. Michael Powalla; Professor Dr. Michael Siegel; Professor Dr. Nicolas Stenger; Professor Dr.-Ing. Christoph Stiller; Professor Dr. Wilhelm Stork; Professor Dr. Hans-Achim Wagenknecht; Professor Dr. Martin Wegener; Dr. Franco Weth