CV & Beyond
An overview of my education, academic work, teaching, and other pursuits beyond physics.
Personal Details
- Name
- Johannes Fankhauser
- Date of birth
- 11 December
- Nationality
- Austrian
- Affiliation
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck
Technikerstraße 21a, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria - Website
- johannesfankhauser.com
- ORCID
- 0000-0001-8973-0373
Education
PhD in Quantum Foundations
University of Oxford · Faculty of Philosophy · St Edmund Hall
Observability and Predictability in Quantum and Post-Quantum Physics
Advisors: Christopher G. Timpson and Owen J. E. Maroney.
Examiners: Jonathan Barrett and Guido Bacciagaluppi.
MSt in Philosophy of Physics
University of Oxford · Faculty of Philosophy · Magdalen College
Highest essay grade among MSt students.
MSc in Physics
ETH Zurich · Department of Physics
Top 10% of cohort. Master's thesis: Is the World Just Wavefunction? Determinism and the Metaphysics of Hidden Variables in Quantum Mechanics. Advisor: Renato Renner.
Semester thesis: Brains, Incompleteness and Objective Wave Collapse. Advisors: Renato Renner and Norman Sieroka.
BSc in Physics
ETH Zurich · Department of Physics
Top 5% of cohort. Semester thesis: Design, Simulation and Measurement of a Tuneable Transmon Qubit in 3D-Cavity. Advisors: Andreas Wallraff and Philipp Kurpiers, Quantum Device Lab.
Fifth semester at KTH Stockholm through the Swiss-European Mobility Programme.
Engineering School
HTL Jenbach
Final grade 1.0, valedictorian. Diploma project: Development and Construction of a Ball-Balancing Robot.
Professional Experience
Postdoctoral Researcher
Quantum Information and Computation Group · Institute for Theoretical Physics · University of Innsbruck
Postdoctoral Researcher
Mathematical Physics Group · Institute for Theoretical Physics · University of Innsbruck
College Tutor
University of Oxford
Consultant
Austrian Study Foundation · Austrian Academy of Sciences · Vienna
10% FTE appointment; co-initiator of the Austrian Study Foundation.
Teaching Assistant
University of Lausanne and EPF Lausanne
Teaching Assistant
ETH Zurich
Teaching Experience
Tutor in Physics
Tutorials, classes, and collections for first-year undergraduate physics students, University of Oxford.
Tutor in Advanced Philosophy of Physics
Tutorials for graduate students, University of Oxford.
Tutor in Intermediate Philosophy of Physics
Tutorials for undergraduate philosophy and physics students and visiting students, University of Oxford.
Tutor in Physics for Gifted Pupils
Summer academies and courses for A-level students, Initiative Education, Vorarlberg.
Supervisor and Tutor
Classes and tutorials for the Master's course Philosophy, Epistemology and History of Science II, EPF Lausanne.
Teaching Assistant
Exam preparation courses for undergraduate physics students, ETH Zurich.
Teaching Assistant
Tutorials and classes for undergraduate physics and science students, ETH Zurich.
Selected Publications
- J. Fankhauser, T. Gonda, and G. de les Coves, “Epistemic Horizons From Deterministic Laws: Lessons From a Nomic Toy Theory,” Synthese 205, 136 (2025). DOI · arXiv
- J. Fankhauser, “The (un)detectability of trajectories in pilot-wave theory,” in A. Oldofredi (ed.), Guiding Waves in Quantum Mechanics: One Hundred Years of de Broglie-Bohm Pilot-Wave Theory, Oxford University Press (2025). DOI · arXiv
- J. Fankhauser, “Epistemic Boundaries and Quantum Indeterminacy: What Local Observers Can (Not) Predict,” Quantum 8, 1518 (2024). DOI · arXiv
- J. Fankhauser and J. Read, “Gravitational redshift revisited: inertia, geometry, and charge,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 108 (2024). DOI · arXiv
- J. Fankhauser and P. M. Dürr, “How (not) to Understand Weak Measurements of Velocities,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 85 (2021). DOI · arXiv
- J. Fankhauser, “Taming the Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser,” Quanta 8 (2019). DOI · arXiv
DOIs, preprints, and abstracts are available on the Research page.
Professional Service & Outreach
- Member of the Basic Research Community for Physics (BRCP), since 2026.
- Fellow of the Swiss Study Foundation, 2015–2023.
- Tutor in physics for gifted pupils, organising annual summer academies on “quantum physics at your fingertips” and courses for A-level students through Brain Train, Initiative Begabung, since 2020.
- Referee for Foundations of Physics, Quantum, Philosophy of Science, Journal for General Philosophy of Science, and Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, among others, since 2020.
- Organiser of workshops on interdisciplinary and philosophical topics for the Swiss Study Foundation in Zurich, 2017–2022.
- Co-initiator of the Austrian Study Foundation.
Talks & Conferences
2026
- May Conceptual Foundations of QFT, Vienna, Austria.
- April A Radical Experiment | Between Art and Science, Museo delle Arti Carrara, Italy. Invited scientist.
- April BRCP Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria.
2025
- November Oxford Quantum Centenary Conference: What Quantum?, Oxford, UK. Invited discussant.
- September Probability in Philosophy and Science, Graz, Austria. Talk: Epistemic Horizons and Physical Agents: Quantum Probabilities from a First-Person Realist Perspective.
- September Innsbruck-Konstanz-Hannover Meeting on Physics and Philosophy, Maria Waldrast, Austria. Talk: The Physics of Agents and Knowledge.
- August Stromboli Summer Research Intensive, Stromboli, Italy. Project: Unsplitting the World: Rethinking the Subject-Object Divide in Quantum Physics.
- July 22nd European Conference on Foundations of Physics, Gdańsk, Poland. Talk: Epistemic Horizons from Deterministic Laws: Lessons from a Nomic Toy Theory.
- June 100 Years of Quantum Mechanics, Helgoland, Germany. Presentation: Epistemic Boundaries and Quantum Uncertainty: What Local Observers Can (Not) Predict.
- April QISS Conference Vienna 25, Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Vienna, Austria.
2024
- September Innsbruck-Konstanz-Hannover Meeting on Physics and Philosophy, Maria Waldrast, Austria. Talk: Epistemic Horizons from Deterministic Laws: Lessons from a Nomic Toy Theory.
- September Vienna Quantum Foundations Conference, Vienna, Austria. Presentation: Epistemic Boundaries and Quantum Uncertainty: What Local Observers Can (Not) Predict.
- July Quantum Foundations Seminar, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Canada. Talk: Epistemic Horizons from Deterministic Laws: Lessons from a Nomic Toy Theory.
- July Müller Group, Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Vienna, Austria. Talk: Epistemic Horizons from Deterministic Laws: Lessons from a Nomic Toy Theory.
- July Emergence of Classicality: New Perspectives on Measurements in Quantum Theory, Trinity College Dublin. Talk: Epistemic Horizons from Deterministic Laws: Lessons from a Nomic Toy Theory.
- June Kefalonia Foundations 2024: Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Physics, Kefalonia, Greece.
2023
- November Network of Young Scientists and Engineers, University of Innsbruck. Talk: Why Physics Needs Philosophy.
- November Müller Group, Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Vienna. Talk: Epistemic Boundaries, Quantum Indeterminacy, and the Subject-Object Split.
- September Rethinking the Foundations of Physics, Center for Advanced Studies, LMU Munich. Talk: Epistemic Boundaries and Quantum Indeterminacy: What Local Observers Can (Not) Predict.
- August The Quantum Reconstruction Program and Beyond, University of Graz. Talk: Quantum Uncertainty as a Fundamental Limit to Nature's Predictability.
- July 21st European Conference on Foundations of Physics, University of Bristol. Presentation: Unravelling Quantum Indeterminacy: What Local Observers Can (Not) Predict.
- May Philosophy of Physics Seminar, University of Oxford. Talk: Quantum Uncertainty as a Fundamental Limit to Nature's Predictability. Video
- May New Directions in the Foundations of Physics, Viterbo, Italy.
- March Foundations of Observational, Classical and Semi-Classical Gravitational Physics and The Problem of Agency and Laws of Nature, LMU Munich.
- February It's About Time podcast. Talk: Quantum Uncertainty and Empirical Completeness. Listen
- January De las Cuevas Group, University of Innsbruck. Talk: Quantum Empirical Completeness.
Earlier Talks & Conferences
2022
- December BBLOC Graduate Philosophy of Physics Workshop, King's College London. Talk: The Empirical Completeness Problem of Quantum Mechanics.
- August Quantum Epistemology Beyond Quantum Measurement Early Career Summer Seminar, University of Washington. Talk: The Empirical Completeness Problem of Quantum Mechanics.
- June The Quantum, the Thermal and the Gravitational Reconciled, LMU Munich.
2021
- June Philosophy of Physics Graduate Seminar, University of Oxford. Talk: On the Colbeck-Renner Theorem.
2020
- November Philosophy of Physics Graduate Seminar, University of Oxford. Talk: The Empirical Completeness Problem of Quantum Mechanics.
2019
- July Tsirelson Memorial Workshop, IQOQI Vienna.
- July The Chimera of Entropy II, John Bell Institute, Split, Croatia.
- June Quantum Information Revolution: Impact to Foundations, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden.
- May Quantum Group Day, University of Oxford. Talk: Weak Measurements and Bohmian Mechanics.
- February Philosophy of Physics Graduate Seminar, University of Oxford. Talk: How We Ought (Not) to Understand Weak Measurements of Bohmian Velocities.
- Philosophy of Physics Graduate Seminar, University of Oxford. Talk: Taming the Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser.
- January The Flute & the Bowl, Ruskin School of Art, Oxford. Talk: Philosophy of Physics and Quantum Weirdness.
2018
- October Ockham Society, University of Oxford. Talk: Is the World Just Wavefunction? Determinism and the Metaphysics of Hidden Variables in Quantum Mechanics.
- July First Biennial Midwest Summer School in Philosophy of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago. Presentation: Wigner's Friend Scenarios.
- July The Chimera of Entropy, John Bell Institute, Split, Croatia.
- May Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano. Talk: Is the Wavefunction All There Is? On the Metaphysics of Hidden Variables.
- January Renner Group, ETH Zurich. Talk: Is the World Just Wavefunction? Determinism and the Metaphysics of Hidden Variables in Quantum Mechanics.
2017
- October Swiss Study Foundation, Interdisciplinary Study Day, Fribourg. Talk: Philosophy of Physics and Quantum Weirdness.
- July 5th International Summer School in Philosophy of Physics, Black Forest, Saig. Talk: Gravitational Redshift, Inertia, and the Role of Charge.
- May Philosophy of Physics Graduate Seminar, University of Oxford. Talk: Gravitational Redshift and the Role of Charge.
- March The Foundation of Reality: Fundamentality, Space and Time, University of Oxford.
2016
- Renner Group, ETH Zurich. Talk: Brains, Incompleteness and Objective Wave Collapse.
2015
- September Time in Physics, ETH Zurich.
- Wallraff Group, Quantum Device Lab, ETH Zurich. Talk: Design, Simulation and Measurement of a Tuneable Transmon Qubit in 3D-Cavity.
Beyond Physics
I grew up in the Zillertal in the Austrian Alps. Outside physics and philosophy, much of my time is devoted to music, the mountains, and education.
Music
I play the piano and organ and am especially drawn to the melancholy works of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, including music by Bach, Pergolesi, Orlando di Lasso, Schütz, and Handel. I have been making music since I was ten and formerly played keyboard in a rock-pop band.
Mountains
I enjoy gliding in the Austrian Alps. Hiking and running are other ways in which I spend time outdoors and return to the mountains.
Study Bach. There you'll find everything.