15 April 2026

Photo: Lucas Cesinger/Private

As someone who considers himself a “city kid," Lucas, however, feels that Hamburg is a whole different story. Growing up in Karlsruhe and doing his master’s at RWTH Aachen in quantum field theory and gauge theories led him to moving to the bustling city of Hamburg to pursue a PhD, where he will work on the calculation of anomalous dimensions in different theories.

Can you tell us a bit about what you did previously, what you are doing currently, and why it excites you?

I did my master’s degree at RWTH Aachen in quantum field theory and gauge theories and wrote my thesis with Professor Robert Harlander on the gradient flow, a tool which allows one to reconcile perturbative results with simulations in lattice gauge theory. I am now starting my position with Professors Schomerus and Moch at DESY and QU, where I will be working on the calculation of anomalous dimensions in different theories. On the one hand, this will make use of many of the tools and methods that I became familiar with during my master’s, but the theories are in part somewhat more abstract. As I am also very interested in the mathematical foundations of fundamental physics, this is perfect for me.

Why did you choose to pursue a PhD? How does it feel to start a PhD?

I enjoyed studying, life at university, and—most importantly—physics throughout my bachelor's and master’s degrees. A PhD is then the natural way for me to continue my academic career and make my own contributions to physics. Starting a PhD is, of course, super exciting as you meet a lot of new people and have to familiarize yourself with new topics. However, everyone has been super nice and helpful, so adjusting has been easy.

What do you like about Hamburg?

Coming from Karlsruhe and having studied in Aachen, I would consider myself a city kid, but Hamburg is of course a whole different story. I love being close to the sea and the fact that there are so many things to do in the city. There are a lot of things I still want to explore and try but I also already found a couple of favorite spots—in particular a café in Eimsbüttel.

How does a normal day/week in your life look like as an early-PhD student?

After cycling to DESY, I usually have a little chat with my office mates before getting to work. At noon, we go to lunch as a group and have coffee after. When I leave work in the evening, I have dinner and then either go swimming or to the gym and finally get some evening calm by playing the piano at home. My weekends are usually filled with activities like day trips or evenings with friends at a bar.