Dr. Abani Shankar Nayak

About:
I currently develop, produce, and characterize photonic lanterns, which are crucial for future astronomical instrumentation and quantum communication. I completed my PhD at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) in collaboration with the University of Potsdam (UoP) in 2022. My research focused on pupil remappers and beam combiners for long-baseline interferometry. During my doctoral studies, I successfully tested a prototype on the William Herschel Telescope and measured on-sky visibilities. After completing my PhD, I pursued postdoctoral research at the Institute of Applied Physics in Jena, where I worked on thin-film lithium niobate for quantum technology applications.

Research Interests:
Astronomical Instrumentation, Optics, Integrated Photonics, Fiber Optics, and Experimental Quantum Optics.