Mete Atatüre (born 19 February 1975 in Kayseri, Turkey) is a Turkish physicist working on experimental solid-state quantum optics, in particular on the optical control of spin-photon coupling for quantum networks as well as investigation of many-body physics in atomically-thin heterostructures, with the aim of developing new materials and devices for quantum sensing applications.
He was co-founder of the Atomic, Mesoscopic and Optical Physics (AMOP) group at the University of Cambridge as part of which he currently leads the Quantum Optical Materials and Systems (QOMS) team, with about 30 members of staff. He is also a co-founder and CSO of the spin-out Nu Quantum Ltd. Since October 2023, he has been Head of Department for the Cavendish Laboratory.
Biography
Atatüre was born in Central Anatolia in 1975 and in 1992 completed his secondary education at the Gazi Anatolian High School in Ankara before obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree from the Bilkent University, one of the top institutions in the country, in 1996. He did his PhD at the Boston University in the United States in the Quantum Imaging Laboratory and then moved to do a postdoc in the Quantum Photonics Group of Ataç İmamoğlu at ETH Zurich in Switzerland where he conducted long-lasting work on the full control of semiconductor quantum dots, including their positioning for cavity QED, the first demonstration of all-optical spin initialization and the first observation of the Faraday effect for a single spin. He joined the Cavendish Laboratory in June 2007 as a University Lecturer and fellow of Saint John's college and was subsequently promoted to Reader (2011) and full-professorship (2015) before becoming the head of the department (2023).
In Cambridge, he has made groundbreaking contributions to quantum optics, including pioneering characterizations of resonance fluorescence, quantum control of nuclei, spin-photon interface and the design of new functionalities from emerging classes of 2D materials, such as the first atomically-thin quantum LED.
Academic and Social activities
Atatüre is a member of the Institute of Physics in England and the Academy of Sciences in Turkey, and served as a scientific consultant within the Distinguished Invitees Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences between 2010 and 2015. He was a member of the editorial board of Scientific Reports for the period 2011–2015 and is a member of the advisory board for Small since 2019.
He is also a prominent advocator of science communication and public engagement, with a large follow-up on Twitter. His noted public engagements include 3 TEDx talks on quantum physics, light, science and diversity. He is also an activist for gender equality and diversity.
He also became a popular and emblematic scientific figure in Turkey, where he makes regular appearances in—or is discussed by—the media. He was nominated Turkish man of the year for 2015 by the fashion magazine GQ, who nicknamed him "“Profesör kahkaha" or "Professor Laughter" due to his friendly attitude and enthusiasm for his research". He is often sighted in Cambridge University with his cat Mietziko.
Awards and honors
2021 Elected Member of Academia Europaea (EA) 2020 Thomas Young Medal (IoP), first Turkish physicist to earn it. 2020 Fellow of the Optical society of america (OSA) 2020 European Research Council – Advanced Award. 2020 Distinguished Research Fellow, Sabancı University. 2019 European Research Council – Proof of Concept Award. 2016 International Achievement Award – ForumIstanbul2023. 2016 Science Person of the Year – MSIC National Students’ Choice Award. 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award – GQ Turkey Man of the Year 2013 European Research Council – Consolidator Award 2012 Elected Fellow of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) 2010 Elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics UK (IoP) 2010–2014 CAS Distinguished Visiting Professor – USTC, China 2007 European Research Council – Starter Award 2007 Venia legendi in Experimental Physics – ETH Zurich
Publications
Atatüre is the author or co-author of several hundreds of peer-reviewed publications.
Selected works: