End of this page section.

Research on the International Stage

Visiting Award 2025 Takes Marko Šimić to Stanford University

 

The Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Graz has awarded Marko Šimić the Visiting Award 2025. This mobility fellowship is granted annually to outstanding early-career researchers. Its aim is to promote research at the highest level at internationally renowned research institutions, providing financial and organizational support from the University of Graz and its research management services.

 

Marko Simic

he Visiting Award enabled Marko Šimić to undertake a two-month research stay at the Stanford University in California (USA). - Photo: "wildundwunderbar"

As a postdoctoral researcher in the “Optics of Nano and Quantum Materials” (OpNaQ) group and a member of the Christian Doppler Laboratory “Structured Matter Based Sensing” (CDL-SMBS), Šimić conducts research on the development of electromagnetic field-based sensors in the fields of integrated photonics and millimeter-wave technology, supported by inverse-design methodologies.

The Visiting Award enabled Marko Šimić to undertake a two-month research stay at the Stanford University in California (USA). There, he was appointed Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar in the research group of host Professor Olav Solgaard at the Ginzton Laboratory. Working together with international experts in the heart of Silicon Valley, Šimić successfully conducted research on the development of novel sensors and methodologies for the characterization of complex structured light fields and partially coherent light, based on programmable integrated photonic circuits (rPICs).

The research stay at Stanford University not only allowed Marko Šimić to significantly expand his research and methodological expertise in the field of rPICs, but also enabled him to establish valuable professional connections, generate new ideas, and lay the foundation for future collaborations.

In this context, an intensive exchange took place with Professor David Miller, a cooperation partner of the CDL-SMBS, who, together with Professor Solgaard, is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in the field of integrated photonics. Particularly fruitful was also the exchange with Professor Jelena Vučković and members of her group on inverse-design methods, which provided valuable insights into their working approaches and available research infrastructure.

The experience gained during the stay is crucial for Šimić’s current research on the development of imaging techniques (microscopy) using PICs within the framework of the CDL-SMBS. The research results obtained at Stanford are currently being prepared for publication in several scientific papers, and follow-up experiments are already underway beyond the duration of the research stay.

Link: https://opnaq.uni-graz.at/de/

Contact: Marko Simic (marko.simic(at)uni-graz.at), Peter Banzer (peter.banzer(at)uni-graz.at)