Collaboration with The National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest

The Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) and the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Romania, have started a new collaboration under the motto Excellence in Experimental Physics. A major goal of the collaborative research program is to advance cutting-edge, high-power ultrafast laser technologies far beyond the state of the art. It is furthermore the goal of the collaboration to foster an intensive exchange of personnel and knowhow, toward academic and educational excellence.

Prof. Tudor Prisecaru (left), President of the Senate of the Politehnica Bucharest, and Prof. Stefan Löhrke (right), Vice President of the RPTU, after signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities.

The National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest is Romania’s leading institution for science and technology, recognized for academic excellence and forward-looking educational programs. With 15 faculties in Bucharest and an additional six in Pitești, the university plays a vital role in shaping the next generation of specialists, engineers, researchers, and innovators for the regional and global industry. The educational model of the university is built on excellence in both teaching and research, cultivating the skills and mindsets needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

One of the university’s most advanced research assets is the expertise in Nuclear Physics. At the Physics Department from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, professors, specialists and students join their efforts to face the challenges of ultra-intense lasers and high-brilliance gamma beams. These cutting-edge technologies enable pioneering studies in nuclear and photo-nuclear science.

A key partner in this endeavor is IFIN-HH (Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering), through collaboration on the ELI-NP (Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics) project. This partnership is integrated with the Doctoral School for Lasers and Accelerators – Engineering and Applications (S.D.I.A.L.A), offering exceptional opportunities for doctoral training and cutting-edge research.

Main Objectives of the Collaboration:

Advance frontier research in nuclear and photo-nuclear science using ultra-intense laser and gamma-beam technologies.
Develop human capital by providing doctoral and postdoctoral training, mentorship, and co-supervision across RPTU, Politehnica Bucharest and IFIN-HH.
Share infrastructure through coordinated access to facilities, experimental halls, and high-performance computing resources.
Attract competitive funding via coordinated proposals to national and European programs.
Accelerate technology transfer and innovation, including instrumentation, diagnostics, and advanced control systems.
Further develop international visibility by hosting workshops, summer schools, and visiting-scholar exchanges that strengthen global networks.

At the Chair of Optical Quantum Metrology at the Faculty of Physics of the RPTU, the new collaboration enables joint experiments in fields including the development of novel power regimes in linear [1,2], as well as nonlinear [3,4] passive optical resonators. A step toward bringing the higher education at the two universities closer together, is the association of Prof. Ioachim Pupeza, head of the Laboratory for Lightwave Metrology with the Doctoral School of Laser and Accelerator Engineering and Applications (S.D.I.A.L.A) at Politehnica Bucharest.

[1] H. Carstens, N. Lilienfein, S. Holzberger, C. Jocher, T. Eidam, J. Limpert, A. Tünnermann, J. Weitenberg, D. C. Yost, A. Alghamdi, Z. Alahmed, A. Azzeer, A. Apolonski, E. Fill, F. Krausz, and I. Pupeza, “Megawatt-scale average-power ultrashort pulses in an enhancement cavity,” Optics Letters 39, 2595 (2014)

[2] P. Sulzer, M. Högner, A.-K. Raab, L. Fürst, E. Fill, D. Gerz, C. Hofer, L. Voronina, and I. Pupeza, “Cavity-enhanced field-resolved spectroscopy,” Nature Photonics 16, 692–697 (2022)

[3] N. Lilienfein, C. Hofer, M. Högner, T. Saule, M. Trubetskov, V. Pervak, E. Fill, C. Riek, A. Leitenstorfer, J. Limpert, F. Krausz, and I. Pupeza, “Temporal solitons in free-space femtosecond enhancement cavities,” Nature Photonics 13, 214–218 (2019)

[4] I. Pupeza, C. Zhang, M. Högner, and J. Ye, “Extreme-ultraviolet frequency combs for precision metrology and attosecond science,” Nature Photonics 15, 175–186 (2021)