Coffee, networking, and, above all, physics – ct.qmat's hybrid in-person retreat

Overview

Highly motivated speakers, a buzz of voices in the foyer, and lively discussions about the presentations and the posters on display: More than 100 participants attended the first on-site Cluster Retreat – and the second one since the launch of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat – Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter in 2019 – in the placid town of Merseburg from March 23 to 25, 2022. A further 30 retreat guests joined virtually.

Eight lecture blocks, two poster sessions, a discussion on research data management, a pub quiz and many opportunities to get to know each other updated the members of the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster on the latest research and brought them closer together. The hybrid elements ensured that those who were prevented from attending at short notice due to the corona pandemic were not excluded. "But the need to finally meet in person and exchange ideas directly – face to face – was clearly noticeable. Even after the official program, there were lively discussions until late," sums up Prof. Matthias Vojta, Dresden spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence.

The prize for the best scientific poster went to the early career scientist Cedric Schmitt from Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg, who presented his work on "Intercalation of indenene in SiC/graphene". 

The feedback at the end of the second Cluster Retreat 2022 was highly positive. "Our meeting in Merseburg proved it again: The best ideas emerge especially during casual conversation in the breaks, over coffee!" says Vojta.