Cluster Renewed! 7 More Years!
2nd Funding Period Approved by DFG

Overview

Excellent research into novel quantum materials continues! Under its expanded name “ctd.qmat – Complexity, Topology and Dynamics in Quantum Matter,” the Würzburg–Dresden Cluster of Excellence will enter its second funding period in 2026. This was announced by the German Research Foundation (DFG) on May 22, 2025. This success builds on the achievements of the current funding period, which includes more than 1,500 publications and six patents. With its expanded focus on quantum dynamics, the cluster will now address a major emerging theme in solid-state physics, while enhancing the real-world relevance of its fundamental research.

 

Since 2019, the Cluster of Excellence has linked the universities of Würzburg and Dresden, two of the leading research environments for condensed matter. It brings together over 300 researchers from more than 30 countries, all working on the development of novel topological quantum materials as the foundation for future high-tech innovations.

 

Broadening the Research Spectrum

The successful application for a second funding period paves the way for a significant broadening of the cluster’s research agenda. The new name ctd.qmat stands for Complexity, Topology, and Dynamics in Quantum Matter. Quantum dynamics is a defining trend in many-body physics and will therefore become one of the cluster’s central research themes in the coming years.

 

High-Caliber Collaborations

From the outset, the Würzburg–Dresden Cluster of Excellence has worked closely with leading non-university research institutions. The well-established partnerships with the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, and the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems – all based in Dresden – will continue to play a vital role in the cluster’s development during its second funding period.

 

Nerve-Wracking Up to the Wire

Professor Ralph Claessen from the Chair of Experimental Physics IV and the cluster’s spokesperson at JMU Würzburg, explains: “Our researchers are developing materials that lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s technologies. With patents for topological lasers and ultra-precise measurement techniques, for example, we’ve already set the stage for real-world applications.” In the second funding period, the researchers will broaden their focus to include quantum dynamics, a core topic in solid-state physics.

 

Professor Matthias Vojta, Professor of Theoretical Solid-State Physics and cluster spokesperson at TU Dresden, adds: “We were on the edge of our seats waiting for the Excellence Commission’s decision! It was a nail-biter right up to the last minute – which makes us all the more thrilled that we can now continue our work alongside our colleagues in Würzburg. Over the last funding period, we have achieved internationally recognized breakthroughs in developing new quantum materials. And we’ve set ambitious goals for the next seven years to push the boundaries of topological quantum physics.”

 

Six New Professorships

During the second funding period, ctd.qmat plans to establish six new professorships—three each in Dresden and Würzburg. These will complement the six cluster professorships set up in the current funding period, which focus on quantum sensing, 2D materials, topological photonics, unconventional superconductivity, topological X-ray physics, and the modeling of topological quantum materials. To ensure long-term structural development, further infrastructure expansion is planned at both locations. This includes a new research facility in Dresden, slated for completion in 2029, which ctd.qmat will share with the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research.