Markus Allgaier
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Assistant Professor, Physics & Astrophysics
- Quantum Optics, Laser Communications, Remote Sensing, Optical Sensors for Earth Science
Contact Info
- Email: markus.allgaier@UND.edu
- Office: 701.777.3522
Office Address
101 Cornell St Stop 7129
Grand Forks, ND 58202-7129
Websites
Biography
Markus is a Professor in the Physics Department at UND where he spends his time pointing lasers at crystals. Which lasers and at what kind of crystals changes from time to time, but the theme remains the same.
Markus started his career in his home country of Germany where he received his BSc and MSc in Physics and Materials Science from the Philipps-University Marburg. He learned a lot about semiconductor materials for diode lasers and thought lasers were pretty boring. He then went on to get a PhD in Applied Physics at Paderborn University, where he wanted to learn about quantum science, which unfortunately involved more lasers. During his time as a postdoc at the University of Oregon and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, he worked both on photon sources for telecommunication – which involves pointing lasers at crystals – and (as a side project) measuring optical properties of snow and ice, which also in a way requires pointing lasers at crystals.
Markus joined UND in January 2024, where he is continuing his research. He is a member of the Science Team for the NASA ICESat-2 mission, and currently building a facility for satellite laser communication. He is also part of the NSF ASPEN-Net collaboration, working towards certifiably unbreakable encryption using quantum light.
Recurring every other year:
- PHYS 325 - Optics: Our intro to optics: Wave optics, geometric ptics, imaging, interferometry, detectors, nonlinear optics, lasers, applications in sensing and communication.
- PHYS 325L - Optics Lab: Concurrent with PHYS 325, not available as a stand-alone course. Currently, the lab covers five experiments: Polarization, electro-optic modulation, interferometry, Fourier optics, and optical tweezers.
- PHYS 428 - Advanced Physics Laboratory (Diode Laser Spectroscopy): I teach one out of the five experiments that are part of the advanced lab - diode laser spectroscopy. The experiment covers external cavity diode lasers, absorption phenomena in Rubidium, different Doppler-free spectroscopy techniques.
- PHYS 492-02 - Quantum Optics: THis advanced elective for undergrads and physics graduate students dives deepet into the nature of light. The course covers basic quantum optics concepts such as modes and states, as well as applications to quantum information and quantum cryptography. The class contains a lab and research projects.
Available every semester for interested students:
- PHYS 415 - Research: This course gives students the opportunity to carry out a research project in my quantum optics lab. The hands-on projects are related to either quantum communication or single-photon sensors. Paid summer internships or assistantships as an extension of 415 are also possible. Please reach out early if you are interested so that we can find a project and pair you with one of my graduate students.
- PHYS 499 - Physics Capstone: The capstone is intended as an extension of 415 and cover mostly technical writing. Successful projects can lead to a peer-reviewed publication or conference paper. I require studnets who want to take 499 with me to have done research in my lab prior to taking 499, either as 415, an internship, or through a PHYS 492 project.
- Quantum Optics
- Photon Sources for Quantum Communication
- Quantum Sensing
- Member of the NASA ICESat-2 Science Team (lead-PI Johnathan C. Ryan / Duke)
- Member of NSF ASPEN-Net collaboration (Attosecond Synchronized Photonic Entanglement Network - A National Quantum Virtual Lab Testbed)