NBIA Colloquium: Peter Lodahl

Speaker: Peter Lodahl (NBI & Sparrow Quantum)

Title: Interfacing one photon and one atom - from fundamental physics to revenue

Abstract:  Quantum physics is transitioning from an area of fundamental research to the realm of technology. 100 years after Niels Bohr and colleagues unraveled the mind-boggling nature of quantum systems, it is today realized that transformative new technology is possible when exploiting intrinsic quantum phenomena, such as quantum superposition and quantum entanglement. I will discuss how we today realize foundational quantum hardware that is capable of controlling fundamental quantum objects such as a single photon – the fundamental constituent of light. Such hardware could have transformative applications for secure communication or as building blocks in photonic quantum computers. Technologically it is still early days, yet a global race with massive investments entails rapid progress, and I will present my own journey from fundamental research and into the roaring world of a start-up company.

Brief bio-sketch: Peter Lodahl received his PhD from NBI in 2000 and subsequently held post-doctoral positions at Caltech and University of Twente. He was appointed Associate Professor at NBI in 2005 and promoted to Professor in 2011. In 2016 he was appointed Scientific Director of Center for Quantum Innovation (Qubiz), and in 2018 he became Director of DNRF Center of Excellence of Hybrid Quantum Networks (Hy-Q) and later also Director of Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Solid State Quantum Simulators. Peter Lodahl is a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, and he has received numerous awards and honors for his research, including an ERC Consilidator Grant (2010), an ERC Advanced Grant (2015), the EliteForsk Award (2016), and Queen Margrethe's Research Award (2022). He is also the founder of the quantum-tech start-up company Sparrow Quantum.

Refreshments in the NBIA Lounge after the talk!