Congratulations to Prof. Anna Lena Giesecke

AMO warmly congratulates Anna Lena Giesecke for her double appointment as Professor for Semiconductor Technology at the University of Duisburg-Essen and as group leader at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems (Fraunhofer IMS).

Giesecke has been the head of the Nanophotonics group at AMO since 2014. She joined the company in 2013, after a PhD at Institute of Laser and Plasma Physics at the Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf and a master degree from the Institute of Quantum Optics at Leibniz Universität Hannover.  Her expertise includes the development of sophisticated laser sources, as well as a vast know-how in the field of integrated silicon photonics and graphene optoelectronics.

At AMO, her research group has developed a new fabrication platform based on silicon-nitride for broadband photonic integrated circuits. One of the key results was the demonstration of the first on-chip perovskite laser based on silicon-nitride photonics. Furthermore, her group intensively cooperated with AMO’s Graphene Electronic Group to exploit the properties of graphene for photonic and optoelectronic applications.

“We are very happy for Anna Lena for this important career step”, says AMO’s Director Prof. Max Lemme, “Her departure is a big loss for AMO, but it is also an important recognition of the work she has been doing in the Nanophotonics group. As Managing Director of AMO, it makes me especially proud to see that the excellent research performed at AMO becomes the basis for an ambitious academic career.”

In Duisburg, Giesecke will keep working on the integration of different photonic and electronic structures, both using existing processes as well as establishing new ones – her group at Fraunhofer IMS is indeed called Photonic Structure Integration (PSI).

“I’m very excited about the new job”, says Giesecke. “My research involves a lot of technology, which means a lot of costly equipment and know-how. The combination Fraunhofer IMS and University of Duisburg-Essen represents an ideal environment to develop new competitive projects. I’m also looking forward to teaching at the university level, which is an experience I missed at AMO.”

Giesecke’s new position actually started already on January 1st, 2022, but the real start has been postponed by a few months because of her second child, born in autumn 2021. “It is important for female researchers not to lose the joy in the scientific career and to keep pursuing their dreams and take important steps”, says Giesecke. “Anna Lena has always been a role model for female researchers at AMO – and now more than ever”, says Lemme.

“I’m very grateful for the wonderful time at AMO”, adds Giesecke. “It really changed my life in the best possible way. I especially thank everyone in the photonics team for the great support over the last years – almost a decade. I would also like to thank Max Lemme and Michael Hornung for all the opportunities they offered me.”