Sebastian Maehrlein

Sebastian Maehrlein is a Group Leader heading the THz Structural Dynamics research group within the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin. Since June 2020, he has led this independent research group, which received a prestigious six-year Emmy Noether grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) in July 2022. His research group consists of five PhD students, three postdoctoral researchers, and maintains active collaborations with institutions in France, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Maehrlein's research focuses on understanding and controlling structural dynamics in materials using intense terahertz and mid-infrared laser pulses. His group investigates how spatial arrangements of atoms can be modulated on ultrafast time scales to control material properties and potentially discover new material features. Key research areas include lattice trajectory control, dynamically disordered systems, molecular rotations in solids, nonlinear phononics, and lattice-driven phenomena. The group particularly studies phonon anharmonicities, molecular orientations in solids, and dynamically disordered systems, with significant work on lead halide perovskites and 2D materials.

The group's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on coherent control of lattice dynamics, with numerous papers in high-impact journals including Nature Physics, Science Advances, and Advanced Materials. Their research shows a clear trend toward understanding angular momentum transfer in crystal lattices, symmetry breaking in hybrid materials, and developing novel techniques for THz spectroscopy and control. The work has significant implications for optoelectronics, quantum materials, and ultrafast control of material properties.

Scientific Awards:

• Emmy Noether grant from German Research Foundation (DFG)

Prof. Maehrlein actively supervises multiple PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, with a track record of successful student outcomes including Marie Cherasse's PhD graduation in December 2022 and her subsequent receipt of the French L'Oréal UNESCO Award for Women in Science. His group participates in the ANR-DFG research consortium '2D-HYPE' and the Max Planck-Radboud Center for IR-FEL spectroscopy, securing substantial external funding for their research. The THz Structural Dynamics group maintains strong international collaborations, particularly with research groups in France, the Netherlands, and the United States.

The THz Structural Dynamics group operates state-of-the-art laboratories for generating highly intense and phase-stable laser pulses in the THz and mid-infrared spectral range. Their facilities enable coherent driving of specific structural dynamics on fundamental time and energy scales, allowing exploration of tailored lattice trajectories that may steer solids into hidden states. The group has made significant contributions to understanding nonlinear phononics and developing novel spectroscopic techniques for studying ultrafast structural dynamics.