Every journey always starts with a very first step! Today our new group at the University of Basel has officially began its operation. We will use ultra-low temperature optical spectroscopy of custom-made charge-tunable quantum materials to investigate and control novel strongly correlated phases of matter. To this end, we will use cutting-edge research equipement, including dilution refrigerator units, fast laser systems, and various clean-room equipment. This will be placed in state-of-the-art laboratories that will soon be renovated to fit our needs. One of them is already almost ready to set up our experiments!