science talk with
Quantum technologies are regarded as key technologies of the future, but are difficult to access for many people. Terms such as photonics, quantum sensors and quantum computers seem abstract and are often confined to research laboratories. Yet quantum-based technologies are already playing an important role today, for example in the development of new chips, high-precision measurement methods in medical diagnostics, in environmental monitoring or in future information and communication technologies.
In the science talk, Prof Dr Stefanie Kroker provides understandable insights into the world of quantum technology and photonics. She explains how light and lasers are used in modern sensor systems and what role quantum physical effects play in current and future applications.
The QUANTista project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is a particular focus. The aim of the project is to make complex quantum physics concepts comprehensible with the help of a board game. Without any prior knowledge, the game aims to convey what happens in modern research laboratories and build a bridge between abstract research and everyday understanding.
QUANTista is deliberately aimed at a broad, age- and socially heterogeneous target group that is often not reached by traditional science formats. The game-based approach can be used flexibly in terms of time and location and is intended to contribute to an informed social debate on quantum technologies. This is a key prerequisite for acceptance and the recruitment of young talent in a growing future field.
The science talk is a cooperation with Volkswagen Group and will be available in hybrid form in presence and as a YouTube livestream to make it accessible to a wider interested audience outside the region.
Thursday, 29 January 2026
at 18:30, admission 18:15
in the phaeno science theatre
Prof Dr Stefanie Kroker studied physics at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and at the Universidad de Granada. She completed her doctorate in applied physics in 2014. After a junior professorship at the Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, she was appointed full professor at the TU Braunschweig in 2021. She received the Lower Saxony Science Prize in 2020 and a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council in 2024. Her research area is photonic systems for high-precision optical metrology and quantum technologies. She has been co-editor of the journal APL Quantum since 2022 and co-spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence "QuantumFrontiers" since 2026.
