Ulf Leonhardt
Encyclopedia
Ulf Leonhardt is a German scientist, born in Schlema, Germany (formerly East Germany). In 2006, he published the first scientific paper on invisibility cloaking
with metamaterial
s at the same time Pendry's group
published their paper in the journal Science
. He has been ivolved with the science of cloaking objects since then.
He is a Wolfson Research Merit Award holder from the Royal Society
, and he currently holds a chair in theoretical physics
at University of St Andrews
. He is involved in research pertaining to metamaterials. Specific disciplines are quantum electrodynamics
in media, perfect imaging
, optical analogues of the event horizon
, reverse casimir effect
, metamaterial cloaking
, quantum effects of optical phenomena involving Hawking radiation
and Light in moving media
.
) from Humboldt University. From 1998 to 2000 he was in Stockholm at the Royal Institute of Technology
as a Göran-Gustafsson Fellow. He has held the chair (theoretical physics) at St. Andrews in Scotland since April, 2000.
. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
. He is a recipient of the Otto Hahn Award of the Max Planck Society
. In August 2009, the Royal Society's Theo Murphy Blue Skies award allowed Leanordt to research a new theory for applying metamaterials to optical cloaking full time.
277 pages 208 pages. PDF available here.
Metamaterial cloaking
Metamaterial cloaking is the scientific application of metamaterials in order to achieve invisibility-cloaking. This is accomplished by manipulating the paths traversed by light through a novel optical material....
with metamaterial
Metamaterial
Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties that may not be found in nature. Metamaterials usually gain their properties from structure rather than composition, using small inhomogeneities to create effective macroscopic behavior....
s at the same time Pendry's group
John Pendry
Sir John Brian Pendry, FRS FInstP is an English theoretical physicist known for his research into refractive indexes and creation of the first practical "Invisibility Cloak"...
published their paper in the journal Science
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
. He has been ivolved with the science of cloaking objects since then.
He is a Wolfson Research Merit Award holder from the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and he currently holds a chair in theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
at University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
. He is involved in research pertaining to metamaterials. Specific disciplines are quantum electrodynamics
Quantum electrodynamics
Quantum electrodynamics is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and special relativity is achieved...
in media, perfect imaging
Superlens
A superlens, super lens or perfect lens is a lens which uses metamaterials to go beyond the diffraction limit. The diffraction limit is an inherent limitation in conventional optical devices or lenses. In 2000, a type of lens was proposed, consisting of a metamaterial that compensates for wave...
, optical analogues of the event horizon
Event horizon
In general relativity, an event horizon is a boundary in spacetime beyond which events cannot affect an outside observer. In layman's terms it is defined as "the point of no return" i.e. the point at which the gravitational pull becomes so great as to make escape impossible. The most common case...
, reverse casimir effect
Casimir effect
In quantum field theory, the Casimir effect and the Casimir–Polder force are physical forces arising from a quantized field. The typical example is of two uncharged metallic plates in a vacuum, like capacitors placed a few micrometers apart, without any external electromagnetic field...
, metamaterial cloaking
Metamaterial cloaking
Metamaterial cloaking is the scientific application of metamaterials in order to achieve invisibility-cloaking. This is accomplished by manipulating the paths traversed by light through a novel optical material....
, quantum effects of optical phenomena involving Hawking radiation
Hawking radiation
Hawking radiation is a thermal radiation with a black body spectrum predicted to be emitted by black holes due to quantum effects. It is named after the physicist Stephen Hawking, who provided a theoretical argument for its existence in 1974, and sometimes also after the physicist Jacob Bekenstein...
and Light in moving media
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
.
Career
In 1993, Leanordt earned his PhD (theoretical physicsTheoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
) from Humboldt University. From 1998 to 2000 he was in Stockholm at the Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
as a Göran-Gustafsson Fellow. He has held the chair (theoretical physics) at St. Andrews in Scotland since April, 2000.
Awards and honors
Professor Ulf Leonhardt is a Fellow of the Institute of PhysicsInstitute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
. He is a recipient of the Otto Hahn Award of the Max Planck Society
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
. In August 2009, the Royal Society's Theo Murphy Blue Skies award allowed Leanordt to research a new theory for applying metamaterials to optical cloaking full time.
Books authored
Ulf Leonhardt has authored, coauthored or edited the following books:277 pages 208 pages. PDF available here.