Speakers
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Sadik Hafizovic CEO & Co-founder, Zurich Instruments Ltd |
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Tommaso Calarco Forschungszentrum Jülich ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Tommaso Calarco has pioneered the application of quantum optimal control methods to quantum computation and to many-body quantum systems. Currently the Director of the Institute for Quantum Control of the Peter Grünberg Institute at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Tommaso received his PhD at the University of Ferrara and started to work as a postdoc in the group of P. Zoller at the University of Innsbruck. He was appointed as a Senior Researcher at the BEC Centre in Trento in 2004 and as a Professor for Physics at the University of Ulm in 2007, where he then became Director of the Institute for Complex Quantum Systems and of the Centre for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology. He has authored in 2016 the Quantum Manifesto, which initiated the European Commission’s Quantum Flagship initiative, and is currently the Chairman of one of the Flagship’s Governing Bodies: The Quantum Community Network. |
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Frank Wilhelm-Mauch Saarland University ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Frank Wilhelm-Mauch is a professor of theoretical physics at Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. He works on cross-cutting topics related to quantum computing with superconducting integrated circuits and is the coordinator of the EU quantum technology flagship project „An Open Superconducting Quantum Computer“. He is also a frequent advisor to government and industry organizations. |
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Heike Riel IBM Fellow, Senior Executive IBM Quantum Research Europe, IBM Research ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Heike Riel is IBM Fellow, Department Head of Science & Technology and Lead of IBM Research Quantum Europe/Africa. She is a distinguished expert in nanotechnology and nanosciences and her organization is devoted to advancing the frontiers of information technology through the physical sciences. In prior roles at IBM she had been leading the Materials Integration and Nanoscale Devices group, the Physical Sciences Department and the IoT Technology and AI Solutions Department at the T.J. Watson Research Center. She received the master’s in physics from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and the PhD in physics from University of Bayreuth and an MBA from Henley Business College (UK) in 2010. She has authored more than 140 peer reviewed publications, filed more than 50 patents and has received several major awards and distinctions. |
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Hannes Hübel Senior Scientist, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Hannes Hübel is currently heading the experimental quantum communication activities at AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and is the coordinator of the QT Flagship project UNIQORN as well as the QCI pilot project OPENQKD. Prior to joining AIT in 2015, Hannes Hübel worked as an assistant professor at Stockholm University (Sweden) and as postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Quantum Computing (Canada) and the quantum information group at the University of Vienna (Austria). |
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Thomas Strohm Coordinator of Quantum Technologies, Robert Bosch GmbH ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Thomas Strohm by education is a solid-state physicist. He got his PhD in 1999 from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. After working many years mainly as a software architect at Bosch Research, he was one of two associates starting Quantum Technologies at Bosch. Today, he is working in the Quantum Flagship project QRANGE, where he is part of a team which develops a modelling framework for Quantum Random Number Generators. He is also a member of the Flagship’s Coordination Office and Germany’s industry representative in the European Quantum Community Network (QCN). |
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Marc Almendros Technical Director - Quantum Engineering Solutions (QES), Keysight Technologies ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Marc Almendros is the Technical Director of Keysight’s Quantum Engineering Solutions group (QES), developing electronic solutions for quantum computing, quantum communications and quantum sensing applications. He holds a PhD in Aerospace Science and Technology with a focus on long-distance quantum communications from ICFO/UPC and a MSc/BSc in Telecommunications and Electronics Engineering from La Salle. Dr. Almendros is the co-founder and the former CEO of Signadyne, a company that spun off from an ion trap research group of ICFO in 2011, at that was acquired by Keysight in 2016. Marc also holds an MBA from ESADE Business School, and has years of experience in startup creation and fundraising, financial and marketing planning, R&D and technology consulting, and general management. Dr. Almendros is the co-author of a dozen scientific papers about trapping and manipulation of single ions for quantum engineering applications, and the co-inventor of two patents around FPGAs, synchronization and real-time technologies. |
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Itamar Sivan Co-Founder, and CEO of Quantum Machines (QM) ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Itamar Sivan is a quantum physicist and entrepreneur. QM introduces Quantum Orchestration, a powerful platform to accelerate quantum research and development and deliver unprecedented capabilities for reaching new breakthroughs in quantum technologies. Designed for quantum, the platform empowers research and development teams to realize the full potential of any quantum device. With its robust architecture and powerful yet intuitive programming language, QM makes it possible to run even the most advanced experiments and algorithms right out of the box. Dr. Itamar Sivan completed his Ph.D. in the Weizmann Institute of Science, working on quantum electronics and topological quantum states of matter, and did his MS.c thesis at Oxford University, working on cold-atoms systems. |
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Jan Benhelm CMO, Zurich Instruments Ltd ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Jan Benhelm is Zurich Instruments' CMO and is responsible for marketing, product management, and application development. He joined the Zurich Instruments marketing and sales team in 2011 as an application scientist, and held numerous positions before being appointed CMO in April 2019. Prior to joining Zurich Instruments, he spent two years at Malik Management Center in St. Gallen, Switzerland. As a management consultant, he developed quantitative HR models with clients and a passion for a systemic management and leadership approach that puts people at the heart of the enterprise. Jan earned a Ph.D. in physics on trapped-ion quantum computing, working in the group of Prof. Rainer Blatt in Innsbruck, Austria. |
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Stefan Wörner Global Technical Lead Quantum Finance, IBM Research ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Stefan Woerner is the Global Leader for Quantum Finance & Optimization and a Research Staff Member in the Quantum Technologies group at IBM Research - Zurich. The focus of his research is the development and analysis of quantum algorithms for optimization, simulation and machine learning as well as their practical applications, particularly in finance or supply chain management. He holds a Ph.D. in Operations Management (ETH Zurich) and his thesis was on Convex Optimization in Supply Chain Management. |
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Ivano Tavernelli Technical Leader Quantum Simulations, IBM Research ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Ivano Tavernelli studied Biochemistry (M.Sc., 1991) and then Theoretical Physics (M.Sc., 1996) at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), where he also obtained his Ph.D. His main expertise is the development of classical and quantum methods for applications in quantum chemistry/physics and quantum dynamics. In 2015, he joined the quantum computing team at ZRL working on superconducting qubits architectures. His main focus is in the development of quantum algorithms for the simulation of fermionic systems (correlated electrons in molecules and solids) in both adiabatic and digital quantum computers. At present, he is technical leader of the theoretical quantum computing team at IBM Zurich. He is the author of more than 150 scientific publications in international journals and about 100 invited presentations at national and international conferences. |
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Sofia Vallecorsa AI and Quantum Research, CERN ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Sofia Vallecorsa is a CERN physicist with extensive experience on software development in the High Energy Physics domain, in particular on Machine Learning and Deep Learning applications. Sofia obtained her PhD in High Energy Physics at the University of Geneva working at the CDF experiment at Fermilab, USA. A member of CERN openlab, Sofia works on several projects related to Deep Learning and Quantum Computing for High Energy Physics, Healthcare and Earth Observation applications, supervising the work of several doctoral students. |
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Bob Coecke Prof. at University of Oxford, Head of QNLP at Cambridge Quantum Computing ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Bob Coecke is Professor of Quantum Foundations, Logic and Structures at the University of Oxford, and Senior Scientific Advisor for Cambridge Quantum Computing Ltd. At Oxford, he heads the multi-disciplinary 50 member Quantum Group, and at CQC he heads the 12 member Oxford-based CQC-QNLP team. His pioneering research includes categorical quantum mechanics (incl. ZX-calculus), compositional natural language meaning (DisCoCat), and QNLP. He co-authored Picturing Quantum Processes, a book containing 5000 pictures. He's a founding father of the QPL (Quantum Physics and Logic) and ACT (Applied Category Theory) communities, and the diamond-open-access journal Compositionality. |
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Florian Schreck Prof. Dr. F.E., University of Amsterdam, iqClock coordinator ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Florian Schreck is exploring ultracold strontium gases for quantum simulation and sensing. His research group has created the first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of strontium and explores new ways to manipulate ultracold gases, allowing his group to create a BEC by laser cooling or a Sr gas in steady-state close to quantum degeneracy. These results are being exploited by his group to develop a continuous atom laser and a new type of optical clock, a superradiant clock. The two quantum simulation experiments in his group are based on RbSr molecules or individual Sr atoms trapped in arrays of optical tweezers. Florian did his PhD 2002 at the E.N.S. in Paris with Christophe Salomon, a postdoc at UT, Austin, with Mark Raizen and worked as senior scientist in the group of Rudi Grimm at Innsbruck, before becoming full professor at the University of Amsterdam in 2013. He did win an Austrian START award, ERC consolidator grant and NWO Vici grant, and is now coordinator of the Quantum Flagship project iqClock, the Innovative Training Network MoSaiQC, and the Dutch QuSim 2.0 collaboration. |
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Michael Geiselmann Managing Director, LIGENTEC SA ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Michael Geiselmann (managing director) joined after his PhD at ICFO the laboratory of Prof. Kippenberg at EPFL in Lausanne, where he advanced frequency comb generation on integrated silicon nitride chips towards applications and was involved in several international research projects. In 2016, he co-founded LIGENTEC and brought the company to the international stage of photonic integration. He is responsible for sales and business development. |
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Sylvain Karlen Senior R&D Engineer, CSEM SA ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Sylvain Karlen received a master's degree in Applied Physics from the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2014 and a PhD degree in physics from the University of Neuchâtel in 2017 on the subject of atomic vapor cells for chip-scale atomic clocks and other atomic devices. During his PhD studies, he accomplished his research at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and spent 3 months at the European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. In 2018, he visited the National Institue of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado as a guest scientist working on mid-infrared frequency combs and their applications. He is currently working at CSEM as Senior R&D Engineer and is involved in several project on atomic sensors and atomic clocks. |
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Jacek Strupinski Business Development Specialist, VIGO System S.A. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Jacek Strupinski is a business developer and startup enthusiast with cross-industry experience. At VIGO System Epitaxy Division, he is responsible for global sales and marketing of III-V epi-wafers for photonic and microelectronic applications. Jacek has received his MSc from CEMS program in international management at Copenhagen Business School and a MA at Warsaw School of Economics, where he is currently pursuing his PhD in the Institute of International Management. |
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Félix Bussières VP Technology & Innovation, ID Quantique ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Félix and his team are responsible for the development of IDQ’s core technologies and for key innovative projects. Félix obtained his PhD in Physics from the Université de Montréal. He then worked as a senior researcher at the University of Geneva, where he conducted research in quantum technologies. In particular, he played a key role in developing high-performance superconducting detectors. After joining IDQ in 2016, he took the superconducting detector technology from a prototype to a successful product line for research laboratories, as well as a partnership with ArianeGroup to develop cutting-edge equipment dedicated to the upcoming Ariane6 commercial space launcher. He now leads several innovation activities related to the development of single-photon detectors, quantum random number generators and quantum key distribution. |
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Axel Foery EVP Quantum Safe Security, ID Quantique ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Mr. Axel Foery joined ID Quantique in February 2020 as Executive VP Quantum-Safe Security. He started his career in the telecommunications market working for Deutsche Telekom, Nokia and later Cisco where he built the IP Infrastructure we everyday use. After working at Cisco, Axel became the CEO of Keymile, a Swiss and German network infrastructure vendor, serving the Energy, Railway, Authority and Carrier markets. To cover the strong security needs of this market, he drove the joint development of a new product with IDQ and Keymile/ABB in 2016. |
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Thomas Lebeth Head of System Consultancy & Post Sales - Connectivity, Dacoso ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Working for more than 25 years in telecommunications business Thomas Lebeth is an expert in DWDM transmission technology and layer 1 encryption solutions. In the past he was leading technical sales teams at a large DWDM manufacturer and within system integrators. At dacoso he is now responsible for business development and technical sales of connectivity solutions. He has been recently focussing on developing tailored post quantum safe solutions assuring the security needs of Carriers, Enterprises and customers within the public sector. |
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Sébastien Krafft Lead Engineer, Mt Pelerin ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Sébastien is the lead engineer of Mt Pelerin, a fintech company from Geneva specialized in tokenization. He has graduated in computer sciences from the prestigious Mines ParisTech Grande École, and has been working for more than 15 years as an IT consultant and software engineer in the banking and finance industry. |
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Jean-Sebastien Pegon Head of telecom marke, ID Quantique ABOUT THE SPEAKER: After a Master in Physics and a Master in Telecom, Jean-Sébastien started his career at NIST as a guest researcher in Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) 20 years ago. Back in Europe, he worked in two startup’s developing wireless internet access, fix and mobile services for Swiss enterprises. Then he joined Orange Business Services as a product manager to develop and launch a digital voice service (SIP Trunking) for Multinational companies, before moving to the business development team promoting digital collaboration solutions, managing the European and Indirect markets. Jean-Sébastien joined ID Quantique in 2018, participating in business development in the Quantum Security division, which develops next-generation Quantum-Safe solutions, and especially quantum key distribution systems. These systems are designed to be safe against the power of quantum computers, which threaten the conventional encryption methods. As Head of telecom market, he addresses Cloud and Telecom service providers to convince them that Quantum Security is a fast moving and key topic in a world driven by the value of our Data. |
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Jan Goetz CEO and co-Founder of IQM Finland Oy ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr Jan Goetz is a quantum physicist and co-founder of IQM, building revolutionary quantum computers. In a very short time, IQM has assembled an exceptional team of international quantum experts developing quantum processors and devices to tackle the hardest challenges humanity is facing. IQM has already yielded breakthroughs and gained international attention for their pioneering work. IQM secured a seed round of €11,5 million, the largest in Finnish history. Jan received his PhD on superconducting quantum circuits from TU Munich and continued as a Postdoc in Helsinki at Aalto University, where he holds a title of docent. |
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Jordi Montserrat Co-founder and managing partner, Venturelab ABOUT THE SPEAKER: For the past 25 years Jordi has been active in the high-tech scene, contributing to the development of innovative businesses. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Venturelab , a company dedicated to support swiss based entrepreneurs and startups on their path to build successful world class ventures. He is also co-managing director of Venture Kick - a financing initiative supported by private donors that has invested more than 30 million in seed support across 700+ spin-offs projects, contributing to the creation of 500+ companies cumulating close to 4 billion in fund raising. . Jordi is also active as business angel and board member in start-ups. As entrepreneurship professor, Jordi trains at major Swiss Universities as well as International Programmes. |
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James Wootton Quantum Education and Open Science, qubit wrangler, IBM Research-Zurich ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr James Wootton is a Research Staff Member at IBM Research - Zurich. He is active in research, as well as in efforts to educate and support the quantum community. He did his PhD at the University of Leeds on quantum error correction and topologically ordered systems, before continuing in the same line of research as a postdoc at the University of Basel. There he created a citizen science project in 2016, which provided game-based way for the public to contribute to the science around quantum error correction. Since then he has continued to combine games with quantum computing, both as an educational tool and an application of quantum computing. |
