International Max Planck Research School for Chemistry and Physics of Quantum Materials (IMPRS-CPQM)

In the International Max Planck Research School for Chemistry and Physics of Quantum Materials, the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden, Germany, formally collaborates with two universities - Technische Universität Dresden and the University of St Andrews, Scotland - to offer an internationally leading PhD programme in the field of materials chemistry and physics. All three research institutions have a proven record of excellence in the research areas covered by IMPRS-CPQM and offer an exciting environment for research in the field of quantum materials.

Currently, approximately 50 PhD candidates - among them 40 international students - pursue a research project in the IMPRS-CPQM and at MPI-CPfS.

The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids comprises four departments working on Topological Quantum Chemistry, Chemical Metal Science, Physics of Quantum Materials, and Physics of Correlated Matter, respectively, and and four independent Research Groups focussing on Three-dimensional Magnetic Systems, Quantum Information for Quantum Materials, Research of Exotic Actinide and Lanthanide Materials, and Synthesis and Spectroscopy of Quantum Materials. While all departments and research groups have their own distinct research profile, a collaborative approach is commonly used to perform research at the boundaries of solid-state chemistry and condensed matter physics.

The Technische Universität Dresden is one of eleven German universities that were identified as a “university of excellence”. It has about 37,000 students and 8000 staff members, among them more than 500 professors.

The Department of Physics at TU Dresden is one of the ten strongest physics departments at universities in Germany, with respect to research, internationality and student application numbers. The profile of the department is particularly shaped by its research in condensed matter physics.

The Department of Chemistry and Food Chemistry covers all relevant fields of chemistry. Among the research groups, inorganic solid-­state and materials chemistry is covered in its fundamental as well as applied aspects by several research groups.

Although small, with approximately 7000 students, the University of St Andrews is one of the UK’s foremost ancient universities, having celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2013, and is a highly international institution with a reputation for quality.

The Condensed Matter Physics Group forms part of the university’s School of Physics and Astronomy, one of the UK’s strongest physics departments. Its expertise in various research fields is an ideal complement to research strengths in Dresden.