Quantum Center, ETH Zurich

Job opportunity — Coordinator of the CAS in Quantum Science The Department of Physics (D-PHYS), ETH Zurich is launching a new Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Quantum Science. This continuing education programme, led by D-PHYS professors Marina Krstic Marinkovic and Charalampos Anastasiou, provides scientific and practice-oriented knowledge in quantum physics, quantum information, quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum algorithms. Bringing together expertise from across D-PHYS and the ETH Quantum Center, it combines high-level academic teaching with insights into foundations and current developments in quantum technologies. The Institute of Theoretical Physics is now seeking to appoint a Coordinator (60%) who will lead this new initiative. The CAS Coordinator will play a central role in the development, launch and implementation of the programme, and will serve as the key interface between the CAS directors, participants, lecturers, the ETH Zurich | School for Continuing Education and other internal and external partners. Read more about this position: https://lnkd.in/dNUu3ypW

Quantum technologies continue to move forward through collaboration. That's what QIDiS is all about, bringing together researchers, industry, startups, and technology partners to exchange ideas and discuss the challenges shaping the field. If you haven't already, save the date for #QIDiS2026!   📅 13 October 2026  📍 StageOne, Zurich   More information and registration details can be found here: https://www.qidis26.com/   #QuantumTechnology

Concentric quantum connections Last week, the wider Quantum Center community convened in the picturesque mountain resort of Valbella for its annual retreat. More than 80 participants from 30 research groups and six ETH Zurich departments as well as from the Paul Scherrer Institute and Empa came, representing a broad range of research and expertise. The event was all about creating connections — starting among the Quantum Center groups, and widening in ever-larger circles to the broader quantum community, to industry, and ultimately to anyone interested in and intrigued by quantum science and technology. Read more:

Mechanical resonator-based quantum computing A superconducting qubit as processor, mechanical vibrations as memory: researchers in the group of Quantum Center member Yiwen Chu at the Department of Physics (D-PHYS), ETH Zurich have demonstrated a new quantum computing architecture that mirrors the CPU–RAM split of classical computers — and used it to run a quantum Fourier transform and period-finding algorithm. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eUR5rYnv

A three-dimensional scanning trapped-ion probe Researchers in the group of Quantum Center member Jonathan Home at the Department of Physics (D-PHYS), ETH Zurich have turned a single trapped ion into a 3D scanning probe for electromagnetic fields — a step toward the improved characterization of chip surfaces for quantum computers and sensors. Read more:

ERC Advanced Grants for two Quantum Center members Congratulations to Quantum Center members Juerg Leuthold and Atac Imamoglu on being awarded European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants. The ERC Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious research awards available to scientists at a European university. With this funding, the ERC supports ambitious research with the potential to expand the boundaries of knowledge. Each of the grants is endowed with around 2.5 million euros, plus additional funding for research infrastructure if necessary. ETH Zürich and its researchers are among the biggest winners of this year’s ERC Advanced Grants, with twelve of its researchers among the awardees. Juerg Leuthold (ETH Zurich, Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering) received ERC Advanced funding for the second time. The aim of his project is to develop — initially through simulations and ultimately in practice — a new technology for wireless communication that utilizes the terahertz frequency range. This technology is expected to enable significantly higher data transmission rates than current systems. As a first step, the project aims to achieve transmission distances of up to ten kilometres. In the future, the technology could even be used for communication between satellites and Earth. Atac Imamoglu (Department of Physics (D-PHYS), ETH Zurich) has now received his third ERC Advanced Grant. In his newest ERC project, he aims to demonstrate a new type of superconductivity in which electrons pair up and conduct electricity without loss — counterintuitively through their mutual repulsive interactions. To achieve this, he combines various ideas and techniques, including a specially developed microscope that allows for unprecedented spatial resolution in optical imaging. In the long term, this research could pave the way for superconductors that function at substantially higher temperatures or even at room temperature. Read about all twelve ERC Advanced Grant recipients at ETH Zürich: https://lnkd.in/eiVGEVgX

How are quantum technologies shaping the digital future, and what challenges does this raise for Switzerland? These questions were at the centre of a visit to ETH Zürich by members of the senior management of the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (Bundesamt für Informatik und Telekommunikation BIT) and the State Secretariat for Security Policy SEPOS. The exchange — jointly organized by the Quantum Center, ETH Zurich and the ETH Zurich | Albert Einstein School of Public Policy — focused on current developments in quantum communication, including post-quantum cryptography and quantum cryptography, as well as the potential of quantum computing. Discussions covered a range of challenges facing Switzerland, in particular the transition away from current cryptographic systems and the resulting infrastructure requirements. The visit also underlined the importance of regular exchange between research and administration in identifying technological developments at an early stage and shaping their implications for the state, economy and society responsibly. We thank our visitors as well as all participating researchers for the open and stimulating exchange. #QuantumTechnologies #DigitalFuture #Cybersecurity #PolicyDialogue

Welcome to our newest members We warmly welcome Profs Alex Dikopoltsev, Tobias Donner and Giacomo Scalari as new members of the Quantum Center. The research of Alex Dikopoltsev deals with innovative photonic systems where light behaves collectively, dynamically and far from equilibrium. His group combines semiconductor optoelectronics, time-varying media and topological physics to uncover new states of light, control electromagnetic waves through temporal modulation, and explore how light can reshape material systems. Beyond fundamental physics, these concepts enable novel technologies for precision sensing, communication, and energy-efficient photonic hardware. The group of Tobias Donner explores matter–light interaction in quantum many-body systems. By bridging ultracold quantum gases and cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED), they investigate a regime where light and matter act as strongly coupled, dynamical degrees of freedom. This unique framework allows them to probe the self-organization of quantum matter with long-range interactions, explore supersolidity, map phase diagrams of driven-dissipative systems, and track system dynamics in real time. Giacomo Scalari and his group study (ultra-)strong light–matter coupling between terahertz (THz) photons and two-dimensional electronic systems, from semiconductor heterostructures to single- and multi-layer van der Waals materials. They engineer deeply subwavelength resonators to, for example, modify the ground state of quantum materials. They also develop innovative on-chip THz coherent sources to perform spectroscopy of quantum materials at millikelvin temperatures. Explore the research in the member groups of the Quantum Center: https://lnkd.in/gCGSyJAE

Check out this hot off the press article in the The New York Times on our work on #perfect #randomness : https://lnkd.in/ecGvkqm9 The work was done at Department of Physics (D-PHYS), ETH Zurich, the Quantum Center, ETH Zurich, and ETH Zürich by Anatoly Kulikov, Simon Storz, Josua D. Schär, Martin Sandfuchs, Ramona Wolf, Florence Berterottière, Christoph Hellings, Andreas Wallraff & Renato Renner.