Andrea Trabattoni at Leibniz University Hanover. (Bild: Sonja Smalian, PhoenixD)
DESY and CFEL scientist Andrea Trabattoni has accepted an appointment as Associate Professor in Ultrafast Photoelectron Science at Leibniz University Hanover (LUH). Working as a researcher at DESY Photon Science since 2016 and as a junior professor at LUH since 2022, he was recently awarded an ERC starting grant to develop novel laser-based imaging tools for large molecules and interfaces with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. He will continue to divide his time between Hanover and Hamburg.
In his research, Trabattoni investigates the photo-induced electron dynamics in matter, with particular emphasis on atoms, molecules, and nanosystems. During his doctorate in physics at Politecnico di Milano in Italy, he became interested in this specialised research field. "There, I started to use attosecond laser pulses to image the ultrafast movement of electrons inside biologically relevant molecules for the first time – and am still fascinated by the many possibilities this application offers."
His research contributions were honoured several times: In 2016, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awarded him with a Humboldt Research Fellowship, and Trabattoni started to work at DESY. Here, he disclosed the motion of electrons around molecules during the interaction with ultra-intense laser fields and became the team leader of the Attosecond group from 2018 to 2021.
In 2021, he received funding from the Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups scheme and built a new research group at DESY to disclose the photo-induced electron dynamics involved in nuclear transitions in atoms.
In 2022, Trabattoni accepted a call as a junior professor at Leibniz University. "The recruitment of Prof. Trabattoni is the first joint appointment with DESY in experimental sciences", says Prof. Uwe Morgner from the LUH, spokesperson and member of the board of PhoenixD, a Cluster of Excellence based at LUH of which Trabattoni is a member. "The bridge to DESY formed by his appointment is of particular strategic importance for PhoenixD and LUH", says Morgner.
An ERC Starting Grant allowed Trabattoni to start a research project to develop a novel technology for the ultrafast noninvasive imaging of molecular interfaces. A work he will continue to pursue in his new role as Group Leader at DESY Photon Science and as associate Professor in Ultrafast Photoelectron Science at LUH.
Though appointed at LUH, Trabattoni continues to conduct research at DESY: "I complement my research on photo-induced electron dynamics in matter with the unique table-top and large-scale facilities accessible in Hamburg. The synchrotron radiation source PETRA III, the FELs FLASH, and the European XFEL represent a unique opportunity to study the quantum control of matter at unprecedented levels."
(from DESY News/LUH News)
