Elisabeth Hertz

Elisabeth Hertz. A pioneering physicist whose groundbreaking work in nanomagnetism and spintronics has significantly advanced the field of materials science. Her research on ultrafast magnetization dynamics and novel thin film deposition techniques has opened new pathways for next-generation data storage and quantum computing technologies. Hertz is recognized as a leading figure in condensed matter physics and has been honored with several prestigious international awards for her scientific contributions.

Early life and education

Born in Austria, Hertz developed an early interest in the natural sciences, which was nurtured during her secondary education at a Gymnasium in Vienna. She pursued her undergraduate studies in physics at the University of Vienna, where she was first introduced to solid-state physics under the mentorship of Professor Karlheinz Schwarz. For her doctoral research, Hertz moved to the United States, earning a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her dissertation, supervised by Professor Mildred Dresselhaus, focused on the electronic properties of low-dimensional systems, laying the foundation for her future work.

Career

Following her doctorate, Hertz accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the IBM Research laboratory in Zurich, collaborating with future Nobel laureates like Gerd Binnig. She then returned to Europe, securing a group leader position at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. In 2015, she was appointed as a full professor in the Department of Materials at ETH Zurich, where she established a leading research group. Hertz has also served on advisory committees for major facilities, including the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron.

Research and contributions

Hertz's primary research investigates magnetization dynamics at the nanoscale, utilizing advanced techniques like time-resolved X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at facilities such as the Advanced Light Source. A key contribution was her team's discovery of a novel spin-transfer torque mechanism in antiferromagnetic heterostructures, published in the journal Nature Physics. This work has profound implications for developing ultra-fast, low-power magnetic random-access memory. Furthermore, her group pioneered a chemical vapor deposition method for creating high-quality two-dimensional magnetic materials, such as chromium triiodide, which are critical for van der Waals heterostructures in spintronic devices.

Awards and honors

Hertz's research excellence has been recognized with numerous accolades. She was a recipient of the highly competitive European Research Council Starting Grant and later, an Advanced Grant. In 2018, she was awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award for her work on nanomagnetic materials. She is an elected member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Academia Europaea. Hertz has also received the Walter Schottky Prize from the German Physical Society and gave an invited Kavli Foundation lecture at the American Physical Society March Meeting.

Personal life

Residing in Switzerland, Hertz is an advocate for women in STEM and frequently mentors early-career scientists through programs like the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. An avid mountaineer, she has climbed several major peaks in the Alps and supports environmental conservation initiatives with the World Wide Fund for Nature. She is married to a fellow academic in the field of computational chemistry.

Category:Austrian physicists Category:21st-century physicists Category:ETH Zurich faculty