Join us

Research directions

Research in the group currently revolves around the following topics in quantum many-body physics:

  • Engineering effective Hamiltonians for quantum simulators using nonequilibrium drives;
  • Equilibration and thermalization of nonequilibrium quantum systems;
  • Control and manipulation of nonequilibrium quantum many-body states;
  • Reinforcement learning on near-term intermediate-scale quantum computing devices;
  • Tensor-networks-based reinforcement learning for quantum many-body systems;
  • Machine learning techniques in quantum many-body dynamics.
  • Active matter with non-reciprocal interactions at the intersection of non-Hermitian classical and quantum many-body dynamics (joint supervision with R. Alert);


We have on-going collaborations with leading experimental and theory groups in Europe and the US.
 

Bachelor and Master thesis projects

We offer pre-PhD research experience to particularly promising undergraduate (including bachelor and master) students in the penultimate or final year of their studies. This poster contains information on the application procedure and deadlines; for further inquiries, please email mgbukov|at>pks.mpg.de.

If you are an exceptionally motivated and talented bachelor or master student who wants to do their thesis project (or an independent research project) in our group, please send an email to mgbukov|at>pks.mpg.de, and include: 

  • your CV;
  • transcripts of records reflecting all courses attended in your studies up to present;
  • a copy of your bachelor thesis (or a lab report, or any other scientific report you wrote in the last year for bachelor students).

You should plan to contact us at least three months prior to your intended start date. 
 

Open PhD positions

PhD students at MPI-PKS profit from frequently attending talks and poster sessions as part of the workshops program of the institute, as well as external summer school and conferences. 

Apply all-year round

If you are a highly motivated and creative young physicist and want to join the group, do not hesitate to drop an email to mgbukov|at>pks.mpg.de. Please include:

  • a cover letter where you outline your motivation and/or any previous research experience in relation to the research directions in the group;
  • your academic CV, highlighting your qualifications in relation to the research directions in the group;
  • scanned copies of the transcripts of records for all undergraduate and graduate programs attended;

In addition, please arrange for two confidential letters of recommendation to be sent by your referees directly to mgbukov|at>pks.mpg.de. Your application will be reviewed promptly once we have received all materials, and we will inform you whether or not you will be invited for an interview. 

If you're planning your PhD application early, you are welcome to inquire about possible PhD topics ahead of time; please, include your CV and trascript of records in the communication. 

Apply for the International Max Planck Doctoral Research School

At MPI-PKS we have a highly competitive International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS), with application deadlines twice a year. Check it out!

 

Open postdoc positions

Apply all-year round (early inquiries are welcome!)

We offer a friendly and productive environment for postdoctoral scholars, including the opportunity to work on cross-disciplinary projects with more than one research groups at MPI-PKS, and our external collaborators. All postdocs at PKS regularly take part in the diverse workshops program of the institute, where they meet world-leading researchers in a number of related fields on a monthly basis. In addition, we offer support for attending conferences and summer schools. 

Prospective postdocs should submit their application directly to the MPI-PKS Visitors Program. The admission committee convenes four times a year. 

Distinguished PKS Postdoctoral Fellowship

Young researchers with an outstanding track record are strongly encouraged to apply for the highly competitive Distingushed PKS fellowship. The application deadline varies, but is usually in late November. If you are planning your application in advance and it bears relation to the research in the group, feel free to contact me at mgbukov|at>pks.mpg.de.

 

Externally funded positions

We are happy to support the application of competitive young researchers for prestigious independent external fellowships, to be hosted in the group. If you are a strong applicant and have already identified a particular fellowship or funding agency, send your academic CV to mgbukov|at>pks.mpg(dot)de, and provide a brief information about your research proposal and how it aligns with the research of the group. You must contact us at least two months prior to the application deadline.

 

 

 

The Max-Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.