Peter Rabl presently is an Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Vienna, where he is leading the research group on Theoretical Quantum Optics (TQO). He also is member of the Erwin Schrödinger Center for Quantum Science & Technology (ESQ) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Peter Rabl is one of the pioneers in the emerging field of hybrid quantum devices. His group is working on various theoretical problems related to nano-mechanical quantum systems, defect centers and superconducting circuits, where the interest ranges from fundamental test of quantum mechanics, to the realization of practical quantum technologies and the implementation of many-body systems with engineered couplings and dissipation.

The appointment of Peter Rabl as Scientific Director at WMI is related to the ongoing change in the government structure of the Walther-Meißner-Institute. In 2017, BAdW decided to change the governance structure from a single director to a board of up to three scientific directors headed by a managing director. This new governance structure has been put in practice with the new rules of order of WMI valid since October 18, 2019. With the present scientific directors Rudolf Gross (since July 2000) and Stefan Filipp (since June 2020) and the newly appointed scientific director Peter Rabl, the new governance structure is now fully implemented.

The Walther-Meißner-Institute is particularly happy to host a theory group again and thereby to continue a long tradition. Until 1972, the theory group of the Institute Laue Langevin was hosted by WMI with prominent members such as Peter Fulde. Later on, Dietrich Einzel was working on the theory of superconductors and superfluids for more than three decades (1984-2015). After his retirement, the appointment of a theoretician has been postponed several times due to coordination with ongoing appointments in the Physics Department of TUM and the appointment of a new scientific director in experimental physics at WMI. All the more, we are very happy about the appointment of Peter Rabl. He is an internationally renowned scientists and without any doubt will establish a strong theory group at WMI. We expect significant synergy effects with the experimental groups at WMI by hosting a theory group in the same building.