Cornelia Denz

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Cornelia Denz (born May 23, 1963 in Frankfurt am Main ) is a German physicist who deals with nonlinear optics , bio- and nanophotonics .

Life

Denz grew up in Frankfurt am Main and studied physics from 1982 (direction physics engineer) at the TH Darmstadt , where she obtained her diploma in 1988 with a thesis in non-linear optics (two and four-wave mixture ) and in 1992 on optical data storage and realization of optical neural networks with Theo Tschudi . In between, she worked at the Institut d´Optique Théorique et Appliquée in Orsay in 1990/91 . From 1993 she headed the photorefractive optics working group in Darmstadt. In 1999 she completed her habilitation in experimental physics with a thesis on structure formation in nonlinear optics. In 2001 she accepted a call to the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (WWU) Münster , where she has held the chair for applied physics since 2003. Since 2004 she has also been director of the Institute for Applied Physics and heads the nonlinear photonics working group.

Denz is married and has two sons.

Act

The main focus of her work is the use of modern optical, in particular holographic, methods for structuring light and matter. She uses these methods in optical data storage and information processing, for the creation of new micro- and nano-structured materials and for the control of light in all its properties.

In the 1990s, Denz developed a compact holographic data storage system in which analog or digital data are impressed on a laser beam via a liquid crystal display, which is then overlaid with the previously separated reference beam. The data is phase-coded and stored in a hologram, where it can be read out in parallel, thus enabling high data transfer rates (gigabytes per second). If the data is digital, it can be further processed immediately in a conventional computer and the method also offers advantages for encrypting the data . One goal is the development of inexpensive storage materials instead of single crystals , for example polymers, which are complex to grow . She also uses these for electro-optical switching elements such as optical transistors or for innovative organic solar cells.

Since 2001, Cornelia Denz has been developing new methods of generating photonic crystals with the help of non-linear optical, so-called photorefractive materials. Using the technique of optical induction, she also succeeded in producing quasicrystals, three-dimensional crystals with spiral structures and defined defects in crystals. She also deals with nonlinear dynamics and methods of chaos control at the Center for Nonlinear Science there, such as the control of optical spatial or cavity solitons and the generation of slow light .

Another focus of her work since 2008 has been the use of complex light fields such as non-diffractive, self-similar or accelerating light fields to generate artificial nano and micro materials using holographic optical tweezers . In addition to using these light fields to manipulate particles on the micro- and nano-scale, Denz also initiated new processes in optofluidics for manipulating absorbing solid or fluid particles. The use of optical tweezers in biomedical research led to the observation of cell dynamics in three dimensions and the analysis of infections and inflammations.

Positions and offices

In addition to her research work, Cornelia Denz is committed to promoting women in physics. As part of this commitment, she organized a traveling exhibition on the subject of women in physics , which was first shown in 1993 at the TH Darmstadt. As an author, she was jointly responsible for the publication of the book "Einstein's colleagues". She was the organizer of the German Physicists' Conference in 2009. From 2008 to 2011 she headed the nationwide pilot project Light up your Life , which brings girls closer to MINT topics and professions through the cross-cutting topic of light . To promote MINT topics in schools, she founded Münster's experimental laboratory (MExLab) Physics in 2007 - a research-related school laboratory and in 2011 a university-wide MExLab ExperiMINTe school laboratory , which she runs together with Werner Kuhn , Institute for Geoinformatics at Münster University.

From 2010 to 2016 she was Vice Rector for International Affairs and Young Academics at Münster University.

In addition, Denz is active as co-editor of the journals Physik Journal , Annalen der Physik , Advanced Optical Materials , Journal of Optics , and Optofluidics . Since 2007 she has been a board member of the German Society for Applied Optics (DGaO) and a member of the board.

In 2007 she founded the interdisciplinary Center for Nonlinear Science (CeNoS) at the University of Münster, and was its spokesperson from 2007 to 2010. She was and is currently the vice spokesperson for several COST projects, including the Optical Micro-Manipulation by Nonlinear Nanophotonics network and the Advances in Optofluidics network, newly founded in 2012 .

Awards

  • 1993: Lise Meitner Prize from the State of Hesse for her dissertation
  • 1999: Science award from the Adolf Messer Foundation for the development of a dynamic phase contrast microscope
  • 2003: Women's advancement award from the University of Münster for their commitment to promoting girls' interest in physics
  • 2007: Fellow of the Optical Society of America
  • 2009: Fellow of the European Optical Society
  • 2012: Professor of the year in the natural sciences and medicine category , annual competition by the journal Unicum .
  • 2014: Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences

Fonts

  • Optical neural networks , Vieweg 1998, ISBN 3-528-06462-5 .
  • Volume holograms - data storage of the future , Physikalische Blätter, Vol. 55, 1999, No. 4, online, PDF file
  • Optical storage with photorefractive materials , Spectrum, Laser Dossier, 1998.
  • Spatial optical solitons - light controls light , Physik Journal 2, 2003, 10 33-39.
  • Transverse-Pattern Formation in Photorefractive Optics , Springer Tracts in Modern Physics 188 (2003)
  • with Annette Vogt : Einstein's colleagues - physicists yesterday & today, Competence Center Technology - Diversity - Equal Opportunities, Bielefeld 2005, ISBN 978-3-933476-08-1 , p. 13/14 (free, funded in the "Einstein Year 2005" by the Federal Ministry for families, seniors, women and youth, full text online , PDF, free of charge, 100 pages, 4.5 MB).
  • Nonlinearities in Periodic Structures and Metamaterials , Springer Series in Optical Sciences 150, 2009.
  • Light at a snail's pace - slow light in dispersive media , Physics in Our Time 42, 2011, 185-191.
  • Effective light amplifiers - composite polymers for holographic applications , Laborpraxis Juni, 2012, 20 - 22.
  • Light Fields Can Tailor the Microscopic World , Opt. Photonik 7, 2012, 47-52.
  • The beginning of a success story: 50 years ago, nonlinear optics were born , Physik Journal 11, 2012, 31-35.
  • with Annika Kruse: Philosophy and physics at the extracurricular learning location: Concepts on the nature of the natural sciences at school and university , Springer Spectrum 2016

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nonlinear Photonics Working Group
  2. ↑ Light up your life
  3. ↑ Münster's experimental laboratory (MExLab) physics
  4. ↑ MExLab ExperiMINTe
  5. ↑ Werner Kuhn
  6. ^ Rectorate WWU Münster
  7. ↑ EU COST network MP0604 "Optical Micro-Manipulation by Nonlinear Nanophotonics"
  8. ↑ COST network MP1205 "Advances in Optofluidics"
  9. ↑ https://www.professordesjahres.de/hall-of-fame/die-professoren-des-jahres-2012
  10. ↑ North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts accepts 17 new members. Press release from May 22nd, 2014 at Informationsdienst Wissenschaft (idw-online.de)
personal data
SURNAME Denz, Cornelia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main