Dr. Niels Schröter receives the prestigious Early Career Scientist Prize

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) has awarded the 2025 C10 Early Career Scientist Prize to Dr. Niels Schröter, recognizing his transformative contributions to the field of condensed matter physics. Dr. Schröter, who leads the independent Max Planck Research Group at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, has been honored for his pioneering research on chiral semimetals and their novel fermionic quasiparticles, which hold promise for future technologies such as memory devices.

The award was presented during the American Physics Society (APS) Global Physics Summit 2025 in Anaheim, California, where Dr. Schröter received the honor from former APS President Laura Greene. His groundbreaking discoveries include the first experimental realization of chiral topological semimetals, unveiling exotic quasiparticles with chiral spin-hedgehogs and orbital angular momentum monopoles. His research has established a previously unobserved link between structural and electronic chirality, bridging fundamental physics with technological innovation.

"Dr. Schröter’s remarkable achievements have reshaped our understanding of chiral materials and opened up new directions for research and applications," said his nominator, Professor Stuart Parkin, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics. "He has advanced our knowledge of fundamental physics and established a platform for developing innovative spintronic devices."

Key accomplishments of Dr. Schröter and his research group at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics are the Discovery of Chiral Topological Semimetals (1), Spin-Momentum Locking in Chiral Materials (2), and the Observation of Orbital Angular Momentum Monopoles (3), which have been discovered and published in high-impact international journals such as Nature Physics, Nature Communications, and Science, which underscores the profound implications of chirality in quantum materials.

"This award is an incredible honor and a testament to the inspiring collaboration with my colleagues, postdocs, and students," said Dr. Schröter. "I am excited to continue exploring the fascinating world of chiral quantum materials and their potential to drive technological innovation."

Dr. Schröter delivered his prize lecture at the Global Physics Summit to a large and engaged audience, presenting on “Imaging Berry-, Spin-, and Orbital-monopoles in Chiral Crystals”.

About the IUPAP C10 Early Career Scientist Prize

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) is the only international physics organization that is organized and run by the physics community itself. Its members are identified physics communities in countries or regions around the world. The IUPAP was established in 1922 in Brussels with 13 Member countries and the first General Assembly was held in 1923 in Paris. It currently has 60 country members. The Commission on Structure and Dynamics of Condensed Matter (C10) was established by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics in 1960 to promote the exchange of information and views among the members of the international scientific community in the general field of Condensed Matter Physics. The IUPAP C10 Early Career Scientist Prize recognizes researchers in the early years of their careers who have already made exceptional contributions to condensed matter physics. The prize celebrates innovative science that shapes our understanding of the physical world and opens new avenues for exploration.

(1) Discovery of Chiral Topological Semimetals: Demonstrated the existence of new fermions with the largest topological charges ever observed, and established a link between electronic chirality and handedness of the host crystal.
(2) Spin-Momentum Locking in Chiral Materials: Revealed a novel type of isotropic parallel spin-momentum locking in chiral semimetals, leading to spin-hedgehogs in reciprocal space that enable novel spin-orbit torques, a critical breakthrough for spintronic applications.
(3) Observation of Orbital Angular Momentum Monopoles:  These special points in momentum space radiate orbital angular momentum uniformly in all directions, represent a transformative step in orbitronics. Their ability to generate and control orbital polarization via structural chirality opens new pathways for energy-efficient memory and computing technologies, heralding the advent of chiral electronics.