Malachy Gerard Higgins
Malachy Gerard Higgins
- Junior group leader Maglev Sensors
- Maglev sensors
- +43 (1) 4277 29553
- Gerard.Higgins(at)oeaw.ac.at
- Postsparkasse
- 3rd floor
Biographical sketch
Positions
- Since 2025 – Junior Group Leader at HEPHY
- 2020–2025 – Postdoc at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI), Vienna
- 2020–2023 – Postdoc at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 2018–2020 – Postdoc at Stockholm University, Sweden
Education
- 2012–2018 – PhD in Physics, University of Innsbruck, Austria, and Stockholm University, Sweden (cotutelle PhD degree)
- 2008–2012 – BA & MSci in Natural Sciences (Physics), University of Cambridge, UK
Funding
- Since 2025 – ERC Starting Grant "Hunting for Dark Matter using Magnetically-Levitated Superconductors" (MaglevHunt)
- Since 2023 – FWF ESPRIT Grant "Levitated Superconductors for Dark Matter Search" (SuperDark)
- 2020–2023 – Swedish Research Council (VR) International Postdoc Grant "Testing quantum physics in uncharted territory using a magneto-mechanical oscillator"
Academic Honors and Awards
- Since 2025 – Member of the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (junior branch of Austria's main learned society)
- 2020 – Physics World magazine top 10 breakthroughs of the year for taking snapshots of a quantum measurement
- 2019 – Springer Thesis Award for outstanding PhD research
Professional Service
Peer review for Nature Communications, Science Advances, PRX Quantum, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review A, Applied Physics Letters, Journal of Applied Physics, Brazilian Journal of Physics, and Frontiers in Physics
- Since 2025 – Work package leader, DRD5 collaboration (Detector Research and Development), quantum sensing for particle physics. Over 100 institutions in collaboration.
- 2022–2025 – Management committee member of LeviNet, EPSRC International Quantum Technologies Network, responsible for network growth and legacy
- 2018–2023 – Management committee member of TIPICQA, COST Action CA17113
Research interests
I am developing ultrasensitive mechanical sensors to hunt for dark matter in the lab. Dark matter particles passing by will cause the mechanical sensors to experience occasional kicks. By precisely monitoring the mechanical oscillators we aim to detect such rare events. The sensors are based on magnetically-levitated superconductors, which offer both exceptional isolation from environmental noise and precise readout using superconducting quantum circuits.
Beyond the search for dark matter, this platform opens up new opportunities for fundamental physics. Its extreme sensitivity makes it well suited for exploring quantum behaviour in relatively massive systems - an important step towards probing the interface between quantum physics and gravity.
My research interests span a broad range of topics in quantum optics. Early in my career, I developed trapped Rydberg ions, introducing a novel platform for quantum computation and quantum simulation.
Further Information
Full list of publications: link