Jure Demsar

Prof. Dr. Jure Demsar is a Professor at the Institute of Physics at Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany, where he leads a research group focused on ultrafast phenomena in condensed matter physics. His research explores systems with broken symmetry ground-states including superconductors, antiferromagnets, and charge density wave systems, with the goal of manipulating their properties using ultrashort optical pulses.

His academic journey began with physics studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia (1990-1995), followed by PhD research at the Solid State Physics Department, Jozef Stefan Institute (1995-2000). He was a Director's Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001-2003) before completing his habilitation at the Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School (2005). He served as a Group Leader at the University of Konstanz (2007-2012) and Professor at Ilmenau University of Technology (2012-2014) before joining Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz in 2014.

Prof. Demsar's research focuses on ultrafast dynamics in quantum materials, particularly examining how light can manipulate electronic and magnetic order in complex systems. His group develops and applies advanced spectroscopic techniques including time-domain THz methods, broadband white-light spectroscopy, time-resolved MOKE, and ultrafast transmission electron diffraction. Key research areas include:

• Light-driven manipulation of antiferromagnets for spintronics applications
• Dynamics of collective modes in charge density wave systems
• Non-equilibrium phenomena in superconductors
• Elastic tuning of electronic quantum phases of matter
• Ultrafast structural dynamics in nanoscale materials

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on antiferromagnetic spintronics, particularly with metallic antiferromagnets like Mn₂Au, and the study of unconventional charge density wave systems. There's a clear trajectory toward manipulating quantum states with light on ultrafast timescales, with applications in next-generation electronic and spintronic devices. His work often bridges fundamental physics with potential technological applications.

Major scientific recognition includes:

• Sofja Kovalevskaja Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2006)
• Elected Fellow of the Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz (2008)
• Jozef Stefan Golden Emblem Prize Award (2003)
• Los Alamos National Laboratory Director's Fellowship (2000)

Prof. Demsar actively mentors the next generation of physicists, currently supervising multiple doctoral and master's students. His research is supported by significant funding including the Collaborative Research Center ELASTO-Q-MAT (CRC TRR288) on "Elastic Tuning and Response of Electronic Quantum Phases of Matter" and the second funding period of Collaborative Research Center SPIN+X (SFB/TRR 173). He has successfully secured funding from prestigious organizations including the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

His research group, the Demsar Lab at JGU, hosts several femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopic methods and collaborates with crystal-growth and theory groups within the ELASTO-Q-MAT consortium. The lab is actively involved in cutting-edge research on ultrafast phenomena in condensed matter, with a strong emphasis on developing new experimental techniques to probe and manipulate quantum materials on elementary time and atomic scales.