New endowed lectureship for molecular quantum materials

Read the original media release here. (in German)

Thanks to the support of Bernese entrepreneur Walter Inäbnit, the University of Bern is able to establish a new endowed lectureship. It is based at the newly opened W. Inäbnit Laboratory for Molecular Quantum Materials at the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DCBP). The aim of the endowed lectureship is to develop new classes of materials that could offer a solution to the problem of energy losses in electronics. The lectureship will be held by PD Dr Shi-Xia Liu.

In view of rising energy costs and growing energy demand, driven among other things by the increasing use of new digital technologies, research into and development of electronics without energy loss is of central importance. Electronic devices without energy loss could run continuously without heating up. Particularly in light of the increased use of artificial intelligence, which significantly raises energy consumption, the development of electronics without electrical resistance and without energy losses would be a major breakthrough.

This is where the endowed lectureship at the newly opened W. Inäbnit Laboratory for Molecular Quantum Materials at the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DCBP) of the University of Bern comes in. A scientific project aims to develop new classes of materials that could potentially provide the answer to the energy loss problem in electronics.

Further commitment by Walter Inäbnit to the University of Bern #

“With his donation to establish an endowed lectureship at the new W. Inäbnit Laboratory for Molecular Quantum Materials, Walter Inäbnit is enabling the University of Bern to carry out forward-looking interdisciplinary research that addresses important social challenges,” says Heinz Karrer, President of the UniBE Foundation. The science enthusiast and Honorary Senator of the University of Bern is contributing a total of CHF 2 million to the University of Bern over a period of ten years. Walter Inäbnit has been committed to the University of Bern and its latest scientific developments for many years. “Walter Inäbnit’s long-standing commitment to the University of Bern is remarkable, be it, for example, in founding the Bern Stem Cell Platform, donating a new laser laboratory at the Institute of Applied Physics or supporting the Bernese Environmental Research Prize. We are very grateful to him for his strong ties to our University of Bern,” says Virginia Richter, Rector of the University of Bern.

With his broad knowledge in the fields of electronics, telecommunications and optronics, Walter Inäbnit takes a great interest in the latest developments in quantum-based electronics. Walter Inäbnit’s guiding principles include interdisciplinary research and innovation, which is why the project is being carried out in collaboration with the Department of Physics at the University of Basel, the laser physics group of the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Bern, the X-ray laser research facility EUXFEL in Hamburg, as well as technology and other partners. “I am convinced that the collaboration between chemistry at the University of Bern and quantum physics at the University of Basel could give rise to fascinating new concepts for molecular quantum systems,” explains Walter Inäbnit, the donor of the endowed lectureship.

Research on electronics without energy loss #

The new endowed lectureship will be held by PD Dr Shi-Xia Liu. Liu has been conducting research and teaching at the University of Bern since 2004. Together with her research group at the W. Inäbnit Laboratory for Molecular Quantum Materials, Liu will carry out a scientific project to develop new, atomically thin topological quantum materials with lossless, switchable superconducting functions. Topological materials are materials known for their unique quantum mechanical properties, such as their robustness against small disturbances or external influences. Liu and her research group are developing a novel material in which molecules are produced that are similar to graphene – a carbon material only one atomic layer thick. “Combining these molecules, which can take up electrons, with a special superconductor – a material that conducts electricity without energy loss – creates stable quantum bits, or qubits, that are protected against external influences. In future, this technology could lead to more efficient quantum computers and lossless electronics, reducing energy consumption and increasing performance,” explains Liu.

A leading role in quantum-based research #

By establishing the Bern endowed lectureship for a laboratory for molecular quantum materials, Walter Inäbnit is significantly strengthening Bern as a location for quantum-based research in Switzerland. “The establishment of the endowed lectureship not only strengthens Bern as a location for quantum-based research, it also enables Shi-Xia Liu and her team to maintain and further expand their leading role in the field of switchable superconductors,” says Prof. Dr Matthias Arenz, Director of the DCBP. With their research approach, Liu and her research team have already opened up a new direction for topological superconductors and published groundbreaking research results. The group’s research is also funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and in the second phase of the research project it will expand its collaboration with technology partners such as IBM and Siemens.