Exciting News!

I’m thrilled to share that I’ve started a new position as an Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer) at the Faculty of Engineering Bar-Ilan University!

After wonderful years at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and three inspiring years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Joint Quantum Institute (UMD/NIST), I’m excited to begin this new chapter at Bar-Ilan University.

My new Hybrid Quantum Photonics Chips Lab will focus on the coherent interaction of warm (moving) atoms with photons on a chip. By hybridizing photonic circuits with quantum matter, we aim to explore strong light-matter interactions and develop new functionalities for both atoms and light-based devices. Our research will contribute to room-temperature quantum technologies for computation, communication, and metrology.

I’m deeply grateful for the incredible people I’ve had the privilege to work with. At JQI, I learned immensely from Prof. Kartik Srinivasan, whose mentorship shaped my scientific and leadership approach. I was also fortunate to collaborate with Dr. Xiyuan Lu, Dr. Ashish Chanana, Dr. David Long, Rahul Shrestha, and Khoi Hoang, as well as Dr. Marcelo Davanco and Daron Westly at NIST, all brilliant and generous researchers.

A special thanks to Dr. Liron Stern, who has had a profound impact on my research path. The ability to pick his brain remains one of my greatest assets.

My eternal gratitude goes to my PhD advisor, Prof. Uriel Levy, who inspired my passion for research and remains the best mentor a scientist could hope for.

If you’re interested in atomic physics, integrated photonics, or quantum information science, I’m currently recruiting MSc and PhD students, postdocs, and a lab engineer.
Reach out: roy.zektzer@biu.ac.il