We want to give doctoral candidates the opportunity to conduct research together with renowned scientists in an attractive and international environment. They should have the opportunity to work on an innovative local research infrastructure and participate in global large-scale experiments within a large international research community.
The MPA Fellowships for doctoral candidates are awarded exclusively on the basis of the scientific excellence of the applicants. The selected fellows receive a research contract as well as individual travel and research funding.
Applicants must demonstrate outstanding performance in their studies and are expected to hold or obtain a Masters’ degree in physics, preferably in the areas of particle, low-energy, hadron and nuclear physics. The selected candidates will get a funding contract as well as individual travel and research funds. They can participate in all MPA activities, including lecture courses, seminars, retreats, summer schools, workshops and social events.
Interviews are expected to take place the week of March 9, 2026.
We offer the following PhD topics:
- Analytic calculation of two-loop high-multiplicity scattering amplitudes in QCD (Dr. Vasily Sotnikov)*
- Beyond the Standard Model Theory and Effective Field Theories (Dr. Felix Yu)*
- DarkMESA experiment: Construction of a Phase-B detector for the beam-dump experiment in the search for light dark matter (Possible PIs: Achenbach, Denig, Doria)
- DUNE experiment: Design and Studies for Neutrino Physics (Prof. Dr. Alfons Weber)
- Feynman Integrals (Prof. Dr. Stefan Weinzierl)*
- Flavour Physics as a Precision Probe of the Standard Model and Beyond (Prof Dr. Marzia Bordone)
- IceCube experiment: First neutrino oscillation analysis with the IceCube-Upgrade (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Böser)
- MAGIX experiment: Commissioning of a Trigger Veto Detector for a Magnetic Electron Spectrometer and Investigations of Few-Body Systems in Electron Scattering (Possible PIs: Denig, Merkel)
- MAGIX experiment: Development and Calibration of a GEM-TPC System for a Magnetic Electron Spectrometer and Nucleon Form Factor Measurements (Possible PIs: Denig, Merkel)
- Mu3e experiment: Fast online event reconstruction (Prof. Dr. Niklaus Berger)
- Mu3e experiment: Readout and data transmission electronics for phase II (Prof. Dr. Niklaus Berger)
- Nuclear Astrophysics (Prof. Dr. Concettina Sfienti)
- NuDoubt++ Experiment: Mechanical design of the inner detector (Possible PIs: Prof. Böser, Dr. Schoppmann, Prof. Weber, Prof. Wurm)□
- NuDoubt++ Experiment: Background and sensitivity studies (Possible PIs: Prof. Böser, Dr. Schoppmann, Prof. Weber, Prof. Wurm)□
- P2 experiment: Commissioning of the Pixel tracking detector (Prof. Dr. Niklaus Berger)
- P2 experiment: First measurements (Prof. Dr. Frank Maas)
- Project 8/KATRIN++: Accommodation of atomic hydrogen/tritium on cold surfaces for future neutrino mass experiments (Possible PIs: Prof. Böser, Prof. Fertl)
- tSPECT experiment: Data analysis and development of a highly segmented radial escape detector surrounding the UCN trap (Prof. Dr. Martin Fertl)
*Positions marked with * start in autumn 2026
□Starting between April and October 2026
After submitting the application form below, please send your complete application documents as a single pdf file (only the documents listed under “application documents”) to mpa@uni-mainz.de.
Please arrange for two referees to submit the completed referee form to mpa@uni-mainz.de. the forms must be sent directly by the senior scientists.
- Detailed curriculum vitae
- Cover letter including a short motivation statement
- Scans of university degrees including transcripts of records (lists of courses and grades) in German or English
- Candidates who have obtained their degrees from a university where English is not one of the teaching languages must prove their language proficiency (B2 level or higher) by a certificate not older than three years.
Application form PhD Fellowships
Thank you for your interest in the PhD program. Please complete all fields in this short application form. Please inform yourself thoroughly in advance about the research areas of our PRISMA++ members. After submitting the application form, please send your complete application documents as a single PDF file to mpa@uni-mainz.de. Please send letters of recommendation separately to the same e-mail address.
Riccardo Bartocci
Research interests: Physics beyond the Standard Model, Effective Field Theory, Flavour Physics
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Tobias Hurth
Patrick Deucher
Research interests: Neutrino Physics, SHiP Experiment (SBT): Development of novel Scintillators and wavelength-shifting Materials for low-background Particle Experiments
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Michael Wurm
Kaustav Dutta
Research interests: Experimental Particle Physics, Neutrino Astronomy, Machine Learning
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Böser
Max Ferré
Research interests: Theoretical High Energy Physics, Flavor Physics and QCD
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Matthias Neubert
Daniela Fetzer
Research interests: Experimental particle physics, neutrino physics, detector physics, liquid scintillator characterization
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Michael Wurm
Konrad Franz
Research interests: Ultracold neutrons, neutron lifetime, neutron detection
Research group: Prof. Dr. Dieter Ries
Anne Mareike Galda
Research interests: Physics beyond the Standard Model, Axion-Like Particles, Chiral Perturbation Theory, Standard Model Effective Field Theory
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Matthias Neubert
Christopher Gerlach
Research interests: Theoretical High Energy Physics: Cosmology and BSM
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Pedro Schwaller
Romy Grünhofer
Research interests: Theoretical High Energy Physics, Effective Field Theories
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Matthias Neubert
Felix Marvin Keil
Research interests: Spectroscopy, New States Of Matter And BSM Physics
Research group: Prof. Dr. Concettina Sfienti
Alexey Nikolajewitsch Kivel
Research interests: Axion and ALP-Phenomenology, Elementary Particle Physics, Astroparticle Physics
Research group: THEP, Dr. Felix Yu
Nikita Kozyrev
Research interests: Relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions, neutron skin and deformation effects, ALICE and CBM experiments
Research group: Prof. Dr. Concettina Sfienti
Sebastian Lahrtz
Research interests: theoretical physics and in particular lattice QCD
Research group: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Wittig
Nicholas Leister
Research interests: Particle cosmology, primordial black holes, phase transitions, leptogenesis and gravitational waves.
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Pedro Schwaller
David Maksimovic
Research interests: Core-Collapse Supernovae, Multi-Messenger and Neutrino Astronomy, Gravitational Waves, Machine Learning and AI
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Michael Wurm
Arnau Beltran Martinez
Research interests: Lattice QCD, Muon g-2, Hadronic Vacuum Polarisation, Next-to-Leading-Order electromagnetic corrections, Perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics
Research group: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Wittig
Dmytro Melnichenko
Research interests: Scattering amplitudes; Feynman integrals; Subtraction schemes
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Stefan Weinzierl
Brunilda Muçogllava
Research interests: Neutrino physics, neutrino mass measurements, atomic hydrogen beamline, optical spectroscopy for temperature measurements
Research group: QUANTUM, Prof. Dr. Martin Fertl
Haris Avudaiyappan Murugan
Research interests: GPU filter farm, camera alignment system, lepton flavour violation, BSM physics
Research group: Mu3e Collaboration, Prof. Dr. Niklaus Berger
Miroslava Mosso Rojas
Research interests: Supersymmetric localization, gauge theories, string theory, quantum K-theory, mathematical physics
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Hans Jockers
Asa Nehm (they/them)
Research interests: DUNE experiment, detector design and development, neutrino detection
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Alfons Weber
George A. Parker
Research interests: Neutrino phenomenology, Beyond the Standard Model physics, Reactor neutrinos, Supernova Neutrinos
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Joachim Kopp und ETAP, Prof. Dr. Michael Wurm
Saskia Plura
Research interests: Dark Matter searches, Axions and Axion-like particles, Development of Monte Carlo Generators, Detector simulations
Research group: Prof. Dr. Achim Denig
Patrycja Potępa
Research interests: Experimental Particle Physics
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Matthias Schott
Aleksandr Pustyntsev
Research interests: Quantum gravity, gauge theories, quantum anomalies and symmetry breaking
Research group: Prof. Dr. Marc Vanderhaeghen
Hassan Qureshi
Research interests: Muon Physics, precision BSM physics and Machine learning
Research group: QUANTUM, Prof. Dr. Martin Fertl
Gioele Reina
Research interests: Experimental particle physics, T2K experiment, event selection and reconstruction and detector calibration
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Alfons Weber
Ophir Ruimi
Research interests: Experimental particle physics, nuclear astrophysics, plasma physics, BSM physics, ALPs searches, earthquake prediction
Research group: Prof. Dr. Dmitry Budker und HUJI/Fundamentale Wechselwirkungen AG, Prof. Dr. Guy Ron
Josua Scholze
Research interests: Theoretical High Energy Physics, Effective Field Theories, Flavor Physics
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Matthias Neubert
Hendrik Schürg
Research interests: precision laser spetroscopy, cooling and trapping of atomic hydrogen, nuclear charge radii of the lightest elements
Research group: QUANTUM, Prof. Dr. Randolf Pohl
Asit Srivastava
Research interests: T2K Experiment, Event Selection and Reconstruction, Neutrino Oscillations
Research group: ETAP, Prof. Dr. Alfons Weber
Jonas Stricker
Research interests: Nuclear chemistry, fundamental interactions, actinide molecules in higher charge states.
Research group: Prof. Dr. Christoph E. Düllmann
Toni Teschke
Research interests: scattering amplitudes, Feynman integrals with geometries beyond elliptic curves, ε-factorisation.
Research group: THEP, Prof. Dr. Stefan Weinzierl
Rakshya Thapa
Research interests: Polarized electron source, Polarimetry, Laser technology for accelerators
Research group: Prof. Dr. Kurt Aulenbacher
Sascha Weber
Research interests: Particle Cosmology, Baryogenesis, Dark Matter, Physics beyond the Standard Model
Research group: Prof. Dr. Julia Harz
Alexander Basan
Current Position: Consultant at d-fine
Sven Baumholzer
Current Position: IT consultant
Julian Blumenthal
Current Position: AI specialist
Francesca Bonaiti
Current Position: FRIB postdoctoral fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Matei Climescu
Now Junior FWO Postdoctoral Fellow for the development of high-precision calorimeters for the SHiP experiment at CERN SPS” at the University of Ghent (Belgium)
Patrick Deucher
Nataniel Figueroa Leigh
Current Position: Application Engineer
Marius Köppel
postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zürich
Julien Laux
Simone Li Muli
postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers University of Technology
Prisco Lo Chiatto
postdoctoral researcher as a Joint Fellow of the Max Planck Society and the Weizmann Institute
Bianka Mecaj
Current Position: postdoctoral researcher at Yale University
Nicklas Ramberg
Current Position: postdoctoral researcher at SISSA (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati)
Miguel Salg
Current Position: postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern
Christiane Scherb
Current Position: postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Marvin Schnubel
Current Position: postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)
Niklas Schwanemann
Current Position: Software Developer
Michel Stillger
Current Position: postdoctoral researcher at the technical university of Munich
Jennifer Trieb
Jan Weldert
Current position: Postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University (PSU)
Daniel Wenz
Current Position: postdoctoral researcher at the University of Münster.
Noah Yazdandoost
Current position: Tenure-track scientist at TRIUMF
