Biography

Alexander Kruchkov, born in Luhansk, East of Ukraine, is a quantum matter physicist who has achieved several academic milestones. He obtained his physical education from the Landau School for Theoretical Physics at the University of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Dr. Kruchkov then pursued his Ph.D. in Physics, specializing in computational condensed matter, at EPFL, Switzerland, completing it in 2017. Following the completion of his Ph.D., Dr. Kruchkov conducted postdoctoral training at Harvard University, specifically with the Subir Sachdev group, from 2017 onwards. In recognition of his outstanding potential, he was awarded the prestigious Branco Weiss Grant from ETH Zürich in 2020. This grant supported his research on quantum geometry, dispersionless quantum states, and holographic matter, conducted jointly at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL/ETHZ domain) and Harvard University (as Associate).  In 2022, Dr. Kruchkov has relocated to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he is currently teaching Solid State Physics I and Lectures on Twisted Bilayer Graphene. While pursuing his research endeavors at EPFL, he maintains his affiliation with Harvard University as an Associate of the Department of Physics, and works with Subir Sachdev and Philip Kim towards the SYK experiment. 

Current work

Alexander Kruchkov is a PI on the Branco Weiss Grant, dedicated to flat electronic bands, strong interactions and the SYK model. 

Honors and Awards

2023                 SNSF "Spark"
2021                 (Shortlisted) Swiss National Science Foundation, "Eccellenza Professorship"
2020                 The Branco Weiss Society in Science
2017                 Fellowship from Swiss National Science Foundation for Harvard University
2016                 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
2016                 Bayer Science & Education Foundation Fellowship (Lindau Meeting)
2015                 EPFL Teaching excellence reward
2013                 Master of Science degree with High Honors, University of Kharkiv
2011                 First Prize Award at International Physicists’ Tournament, Moscow
2011                 Bachelor of Science degree with High Honors, University of Kharkiv
2010/2011       Sapronov Fellowship for outstanding students/ Sapronov Foundation
2009/2010       Tarapov Fellowship for outstanding students / National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 

Media

A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets 
Designing Black Holes in the Lab
What’s the Magic Behind Graphene’s ‘Magic’ Angle?Researchers solve magic angle mysteryControlling skyrmions with lasers
Light can be almost stopped at room temperature
Alex Kruchkov qualifies for 2016 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
A new state of light
New state of light revealed with photon-trapping method
Trapping photons: a model for containing light
Pièges à photons: création d'un modèle pour retenir la lumière
New state of light revealed with photon-trapping method