Said Rahimzadeh-Kalaleh Rodriguez

Said Rahimzadeh-Kalaleh Rodriguez is the group leader of the Interacting Photons research group at AMOLF's Center for Nanophotonics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He leads a dynamic research team investigating the physics and applications of interacting photons in optical resonators, with a particular focus on emergent phenomena in driven-dissipative photonic systems.

Dr. Rodriguez received his PhD Cum Laude from TU Eindhoven for research conducted at AMOLF and Philips under the supervision of Prof. J. Gomez Rivas. Following his doctoral studies, he worked as a Marie-Curie fellow at the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies in France with Prof. J. Bloch and Dr. A. Amo.

His research spans multiple areas of modern photonics, with primary interests in nanophotonics, nonlinear and quantum optics, and polaritonics. Dr. Rodriguez investigates hybrid light-matter systems involving organic and inorganic luminescent materials as well as metallic and dielectric optical resonators. His current work focuses on emergent phenomena in driven-dissipative photonic systems with nonlinearity and noise, exploring phase transitions of light, nonlinear device functionality, and polariton lasing phenomena. His research bridges fundamental physics with potential applications in quantum technologies and novel optical devices.

Dr. Rodriguez has received several prestigious recognitions including:

• KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) Early Career Award
• PhD awarded Cum Laude from TU Eindhoven

The Interacting Photons group, under Dr. Rodriguez's leadership, actively mentors students and early-career researchers. The group has successfully guided MSc students like G. Keijsers (now a PhD student) and regularly hosts new MSc projects. They maintain a supportive, inclusive, and intellectually-stimulating environment with access to state-of-the-art equipment funded by ERC grants. The group welcomes diverse talent, particularly encouraging applications from women and underrepresented minorities in physics.

The Interacting Photons laboratory is equipped with advanced optical setups for studying cavity quantum electrodynamics at various temperatures, including a recently installed HILA (High Inertia, Low Acceleration) cryostat - the first of its kind in Europe, enabling tunable-cavity experiments at approximately 5K with high stability. Current research directions include investigating superconductivity induced by light, superfluid light phenomena, and exploring noise as a resource in optical systems.