Andrei Militaru is a NOMIS–ISTA Fellow at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), working closely with the research groups of Johannes Fink (Quantum Integrated Devices) and Onur Hosten (Quantum Sensing with Atoms and Light).

Militaru obtained his BS in electronics engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy) and his MS in electrical engineering at ETH Zurich (Switzerland). He subsequently received his PhD from ETH Zurich, where he worked on optical levitation of dielectric nanoparticles in high vacuum.

During his research journey, Militaru initially investigated statistical phenomena in the motion of optically levitated nanoparticles. This effort involved the manipulation of the thermal forces driving the particles—both in frequency and in time domains—and the study of their impact on the center of mass motion of the levitated object. He then transitioned his focus towards the exploration of macroscopic manifestations of quantum mechanics in the motion of the trapped particles. This endeavor involves the initialization of the particle motion to its ground state and, subsequently, the coherent expansion of the associated wave function.

As a NOMIS Fellow, Militaru is developing an interface between the motion of optically levitated nanoparticles and the electromagnetic fields of superconducting microwave circuits. At the core of such an experiment lies a quantum transducer, which can be used to convert the microwave signals of the superconducting circuit into optical signals (Fink group) that drive the motion of the particle (Hosten group). Such a synergistic interface can provide a source of nonclassical forces for the particle and a source of coherence, which boosts that of the superconducting circuits.