The Werner von Siemens Ring Foundation has named Elena Jordan and Johannes Tiedau from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) as Werner von Siemens Fellows 2025. This means that two of the five awards go to Quantum Valley Lower Saxony. Every two years, the foundation honours scientists in the natural and technical sciences who are in the early stages of their careers and whose scientific achievements are not only excellent in their field, but also make an exceptional contribution to social progress. The award is endowed with 10,000 euros.
Elena Jordan receives the fellowship for her groundbreaking work in the field of mobile quantum sensing. She is a leader in the development of scalable ion traps with integrated nanophotonics, which is a key technology in both quantum sensing and quantum computing. The design of these traps, which has already been patented, meets the highest standards in fundamental physics and frequency metrology. In doing so, she is laying the foundation for portable quantum sensors and the application of quantum technologies outside of specialised laboratory facilities.
Johannes Tiedau was honoured for his outstanding contributions to high-precision time measurement. Together with colleagues from the Vienna University of Technology and the PTB, he succeeded in changing the nuclear state in the thorium-229 isotope using a laser. This marks a decisive step forward in the development of the first optical nuclear clock. This new generation of clocks has the potential to significantly exceed the accuracy of current optical atomic clocks and opens up new perspectives for fundamental physical tests and precise time measurement at the highest level.
