Eberhard Widmann

Prof. Dr.

Director

Eberhard Widmann

Prof. Dr.

Director

  • Group Leader Precision Experiments
  • Precision experiments
  • Exotic atoms

Biographical sketch

Academic career

  • 2025 - Director at Marietta Blau Institute for Particle Physics, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna.

  • 2004 – 2025 Director of the Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna.

  • 1999 Senior Project Associate, ASACUSA collaboration at CERN.

  • 1998 Project Associate of the ASACUSA collaboration at CERN and visiting researcher in the group of Prof. R.S. Hayano at the Physics Department of the University of Tokyo. Project Leader for the laser and microwave spectroscopy experiments on antiprotonic helium. Member of the ASACUSA steering committee.

  • 1997 – 1998 STA-Fellow at the Muon Science Laboratory, RIKEN, Saitama, Japan.

  • 1996 – 1997 Project Associate of the PS205 collaboration at CERN.

  • 1993 – 1996 Fellow at the European Laboratory for High Energy Physics (CERN, Geneva).

  • 1990 – 1993 JSPS Post Doctoral Fellow at the Institute for Nuclear Study, University of Tokyo (Japan).

Education

  • 1979 – 1985  Study of physics at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

  • 1985 – 1986  Experimental diploma thesis work at the Max-Planck-Institute for Metals Research (MPI), Stuttgart on pion-muon channeling experiments carried out at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen, Switzerland.

  • 1986 Diplom-Physiker (equivalent to Masters degree), University of Stuttgart

  • 1986 – 1990 Ph. D. work at the MPI Stuttgart. Subject: Search for Positron Electron Scattering Resonances in the MeV Region using the mono-energetic positron beam available at MPI Stuttgart.

  • 01.11.1990 Dr. rer. nat (Dr. of Science, equivalent to Ph. D.) “mit Auszeichnung”  (maxima cum laude) in experimental physics, University of Stuttgart.

  • 1999 Dr. rer. nat. habil., Habilitation in Experimental Physics at the Physics Department of the Technische Universität München. Subject: Experimental Studies of the Metastability of antiprotonic Helium  .             

  • since 2006 Honorary professor for subatomic physics, University of Vienna.

Funding

  • Graduate School Particles and Interactions, Austrian Science Fund FWF, 2014 - 2022.

  • Partner in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Training Network AVA - Acellerators Validating Antimatter, 2018 - 2022.

  • Host for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship ANGRAM - Antimatter Gravity Measurement, 2017 - 2019.
  • ERC Advanced Grant Hyperfine structure of antihydrogen, 2012 - 2018.
  • Standalone Project Hyperfine Structure of antiprotonic helium, Austrian Science Fund FWF, 2009 - 2012.
  • Standalone Project Precision spectroscopy of kaonic helium-3, Austrian Science Fund FWF, 2008 - 2012.

Academic Honors and Awards

  • 2011 ERC Advanced Grant “HbarHFS – Hyperfine Structure of  Antihydrogen ”.

  • 1990 Ph.D. award “mit Auszeichnung” (“with distinction”, maxima cum laude), University of Stuttgart.


     

Professional Service

  • Chair of NuPECC (Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee, ESF) since 2024, Deputy chair since 2018.

  • Co-spokesperson of the ASACUSA collaboration (since 2018).

  • Vice Chair (since 2025), Secretary (since 2021), Member (since 2017) of the IUPAP Commission for Nuclear Physics C12.

  • Chair of the G-PAC (General Program Advisory Committee) of GSI-FAIR since 2025, member since 2017.

  • Member of the Review board of the BMBF project funding scheme "Particles" ("Gutachterauschuß Verbundforschung") 2021-2026.

  • President (2015-2016) and Vice President (2014, 2017) of the Austrian Physical Society (ÖPG).

  • Chairman (2013-2014) and Vice-Chairman (2012, 2015) of the Division of Particle and Nuclear Physics of the Austrian Physical Society.

  • External Counselling Body of the Institute of Nuclear Research (ATOMKI, Debrecen, 2010-2019) and the KFKI Research Institute of Particle Physics (Budapest, 2010-2011) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

  • Austrian representative in NuPECC (Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee, ESF), member of the steering committee for the Long Range Plans 2010, 2017, and 2024 in charge of the working group „Fundamental interactions and symmetries“.

  • Chairman of the “Institutsdirektorenkonferenz”, the assembly of directors of institutes of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2011-2015).

  • Responsible for Austria in the executive board of the German JSPS Alumni Organisation “JSPS Club” (2014-2019)

  • GSI G-PAC (General program advisory committee, GSI Darmstadt) 2004-2009.

  • Austrian representative in the Scientific and Technical Issues (STI) committee of the FAIR facility, Darmstadt (2005-2010).

Teaching

Research Projects

  • ASACUSA: Atomic Spectroscopy And Collisions Using Slow Antiprotons at CERN-AD: Hyperfine spectroscopy of antihydrogen for test of CPT and Lorentz Invariace Symmetry, Founding member, co-spokesperson (since 2018).
  • Hydra: In-beam hyperfine spectroscopy of hydrogen and its isotopes for test of CPT and Lorentz Invariace Symmetry
  • GRASIAN:GRAvity, Spectroscopy and Interferometry with ultra-cold Atoms and Neutrons.

Research interests

Current interest: Precision studies of CPT symmetry and QED in antiprotonic atoms and antihydrogen, precision measurements of fundamental symmetries and interactions using ultra-cold hydrogen, strong interaction at low energy in exotic kaonic and antiprotonic atoms.

Previous interest: exotic kaon-nucleon and kaon-nucleus bound states, meson spectroscopy and in-medium effects of mesons at BELLE and PANDA.