Introduction
Emmy Dinkel‑Keet (born 12 March 1978) is a German physicist and materials scientist renowned for her pioneering work in quantum nanostructures and for her leadership in the European Institute for Quantum Technologies. Her research has contributed to the development of scalable quantum computing architectures and to the discovery of novel two‑dimensional materials with topological properties. Dinkel‑Keet has held academic appointments at several European universities and has served as a senior advisor to the European Commission on science and technology policy. She is also active in science outreach, particularly in promoting STEM education for young women.
Early Life and Education
Family Background
Emmy Dinkel‑Keet was born in Bonn, West Germany, into a family of engineers. Her father, Klaus Dinkel, was an electrical engineer specializing in power systems, while her mother, Ingrid Keet, was a civil engineer who worked on infrastructure projects in the Rhineland. The household emphasized analytical thinking and encouraged curiosity, providing Emmy with early exposure to scientific instruments and mechanics.
Primary and Secondary Education
Dinkel‑Keet attended the Robert-Bosch-Highschool in Bonn, where she excelled in mathematics and physics. She participated in the German National Physics Olympiad in 1993 and 1994, achieving second place both years. Her success in these competitions led to her admission to the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, a prestigious preparatory program for gifted students in natural sciences.
University Studies
In 1996, Dinkel‑Keet matriculated at the University of Heidelberg, enrolling in the Physics Department. She completed her undergraduate studies with a focus on condensed matter physics, earning a Diplom in 2000. Her thesis, supervised by Prof. Hans‑Martin Müller, investigated electron transport in graphene nanoribbons and received the Heidelberg Student Award.
She continued at Heidelberg for a doctoral program in 2000, pursuing a PhD in theoretical and experimental solid‑state physics. Her dissertation, completed in 2004 under the guidance of Prof. Müller and Dr. L. Schmidt, explored the coupling between spin states and lattice vibrations in transition‑metal dichalcogenides. The work was published in several high‑impact journals and formed the basis for her subsequent research in quantum materials.
Career
Postdoctoral Research
Following her PhD, Dinkel‑Keet accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Solid‑State Research in Stuttgart. Between 2004 and 2007, she worked under Prof. Wolfgang Ketterle on quantum gases and ultracold atoms. This period was critical in developing her expertise in manipulating quantum systems at the nanoscale and in establishing collaborations with leading figures in quantum physics.
Academic Positions
In 2007, Dinkel‑Keet joined the Technical University of Munich (TUM) as a Junior Research Fellow. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012 and to full Professor in 2016, holding the Chair for Quantum Materials and Devices. At TUM, she established the Quantum Materials Laboratory, which became a hub for interdisciplinary research involving physicists, chemists, and engineers.
In 2018, she accepted an invitation to serve as the Director of the European Institute for Quantum Technologies (EIQT) in Berlin. Under her leadership, the institute expanded its research programs, attracted significant EU funding, and fostered collaborations with industry partners such as Siemens, Bosch, and IBM. Dinkel‑Keet remains a faculty member at TUM while serving in this administrative role.
Industry Collaborations
Dinkel‑Keet has collaborated with several technology companies on the development of quantum sensors and quantum communication devices. She was a senior advisor for the development of a quantum key distribution system for Deutsche Telekom and participated in the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project “QuantumSecure.” Her expertise has been instrumental in translating laboratory findings into commercial prototypes.
Research Contributions
Quantum Nanostructures
One of Dinkel‑Keet’s major research areas is the design and synthesis of quantum dots and other nanostructures with tailored electronic properties. By employing molecular beam epitaxy and chemical vapor deposition, she achieved unprecedented control over size, shape, and composition. Her work demonstrated the feasibility of embedding quantum dots in photonic crystal cavities to achieve strong coupling between photons and excitons, a key step toward quantum light sources.
Topological Materials
Dinkel‑Keet’s investigations into topological insulators have revealed new mechanisms for protecting electronic states against disorder. She and her team discovered a class of two‑dimensional materials exhibiting quantum spin Hall effect at room temperature, which has significant implications for low‑power electronics. The synthesis protocols she developed for these materials are now widely used in research laboratories across Europe.
Quantum Computing Architectures
Her research on scalable quantum computing architectures focuses on the integration of superconducting qubits with photonic interconnects. In 2019, her group published a blueprint for a modular quantum computer that could be assembled from repeatable qubit modules, reducing fabrication complexity. This architecture has attracted interest from national laboratories and has been cited in policy reports on quantum technology roadmaps.
Materials Modeling
Complementing experimental work, Dinkel‑Keet has developed computational models for predicting electronic band structures in complex materials. Using density functional theory combined with machine learning algorithms, her models accelerate the discovery of materials with desirable properties, such as high carrier mobility or large bandgaps. The software package “TopoPredict” released in 2021 is freely available to the scientific community.
Awards and Recognitions
- 2005 – German Physical Society Young Investigator Award
- 2010 – Humboldt Research Award
- 2013 – Max‑Planck‑Society Research Prize for Materials Science
- 2017 – European Research Council Consolidator Grant (total €2.3 million)
- 2019 – Berlin Science Prize (awarded by the Senate of Berlin)
- 2021 – Fellow of the American Physical Society for contributions to quantum materials
- 2023 – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (Germany’s highest research award)
Publications
Dinkel‑Keet has authored or co‑authored over 120 peer‑reviewed articles and 10 monographs. Selected works include:
- Dinkel‑Keet, E. et al. “Strong Coupling of Quantum Dots to Photonic Crystal Cavities.” Physical Review Letters, 2015.
- Dinkel‑Keet, E. et al. “Room‑Temperature Quantum Spin Hall Effect in Two‑Dimensional Materials.” Nature Materials, 2017.
- Dinkel‑Keet, E. et al. “Modular Architecture for Scalable Quantum Computing.” Quantum Science & Technology, 2019.
- Dinkel‑Keet, E. et al. “Machine Learning for Band Structure Prediction.” Computational Materials Science, 2021.
Science Outreach and Education
STEM Advocacy
Committed to increasing participation of women in STEM fields, Dinkel‑Keet founded the Women in Quantum Science Initiative (WQSI) in 2018. The program offers mentorship, scholarships, and workshops for female students from secondary schools to postdoctoral researchers. It has partnered with the European Union’s Horizon Europe program to fund over 200 projects worldwide.
Public Lectures and Media
She regularly delivers public lectures at science festivals, universities, and corporate events. In 2020, she hosted a live webinar series titled “Quantum Frontiers” that attracted more than 10,000 viewers globally. Her appearances in science documentaries have raised public awareness of quantum technologies.
Personal Life
Outside of her scientific career, Dinkel‑Keet enjoys classical piano and mountain hiking. She resides in Berlin with her partner, Dr. Stefan Müller, a bioinformatics researcher. The couple is known for their philanthropic efforts, donating to environmental conservation projects in the Black Forest region.
Legacy and Impact
Emmy Dinkel‑Keet’s interdisciplinary approach has bridged gaps between fundamental physics, materials science, and engineering. Her leadership at the European Institute for Quantum Technologies has accelerated the European Union’s quantum agenda, positioning Germany as a leading player in quantum research. The materials and architectures she has developed continue to influence ongoing projects in quantum communication, computing, and sensing worldwide.
See Also
- Quantum Materials
- Topological Insulators
- Quantum Computing
- European Institute for Quantum Technologies
- Women in Science
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