Biography:Peter Zoller

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Peter Zoller
Born (1952-09-16) 16 September 1952 (age 73)
Innsbruck, Austria
Alma materUniversity of Innsbruck
Known forTrapped ion quantum computer, Quantum simulation, Quantum repeater
AwardsJohn Stewart Bell Prize (2019)
Herbert Walther Award (2016)
Wolf Prize in Physics (2013)
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2008)
Benjamin Franklin Medal (2010)
Dirac Medal (2006)
Max Planck Medal (2005)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysicist
InstitutionsUniversity of Innsbruck
Doctoral advisorFritz Ehlotzky

Peter Zoller (born 16 September 1952)[1] is a theoretical physicist from Austria. He was professor at the University of Innsbruck[1] and is known for his pioneering research on quantum computing, quantum simulation and quantum communication.[2]

Biography

Peter Zoller studied physics at the University of Innsbruck,[1] where he received his doctorate in February 1977 with a thesis on the Stark effect[3] and then worked as an assistant at the Department of Theoretical Physics. In 1978/79, he was a Max Kade Fellow with Peter Lambropoulos at the University of Southern California and in 1980 he stayed in the group of Dan Walls at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. In 1981, Zoller handed in his work "Über die lichtstatistische Abhängigkeit resonanter Multiphoton-Prozesse"[4] at the University of Innsbruck to become lecturer (Venia docendi). In 1981/82 and 1988 he was Visiting Fellow at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) at the University of Colorado, Boulder,[5] and 1986 a visiting professor at the Université de Paris-Sud 11, Orsay.

In 1991, Zoller became Professor at the Physics Department of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and JILA Fellow. At the end of 1994, he accepted a chair at the University of Innsbruck, where he worked until 2024. From 1995 to 1999, he headed the Department of Theoretical Physics, from 2001 to 2004, he was vice-dean of studies. From 2003 to 2024, he was a Scientific Director at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.[6]

Zoller remained closely associated with JILA as an Adjoint Fellow. Numerous guest professorships have taken him to major centers of physics. Among others, he was Loeb Lecturer at Harvard University (2004)[7] Yan Jici Chair Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Chair Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing (2004), Lorentz Professor at the University of Leiden, Netherlands (2005)[8] and Distinguished Lecturer at the Technion in Haifa (2007).[9] He was Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech (2008/2010),[10] Arnold Sommerfeld Lecturer at LMU München (2010)[11], Distinguished Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching (2012) and Solvay Professor of Physics at the University of Brussels (2015).[12] In 2014, he became "External Scientific Member" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics.[13] In 2025, he was Benjamin Lee Professor in South Korea.[14]

In 2018, Peter Zoller co-founded Alpine Quantum Technologies, a quantum computing hardware company.[15]

Research

As a theoretical physicist, Zoller has made significant contributions to atomic physics, many-body physics and quantum information science. In particular, his proposals on quantum computing with trapped ions, on quantum simulation with ultracold atoms in optical lattices and on quantum repeaters in quantum communication have made a decisive contribution to bringing theoretical concepts of quantum information into a laboratory setting. This has inspired and guided new experimental research directions and established quantum optical systems as one of the leading experimental platforms for quantum technologies.

In 1995, together with Ignacio Cirac, he proposed a “quantum computer with cold trapped ions”.[16] This was the first experimentally realistic and comprehensive proposal for a universal quantum computer. This work triggered a rapid experimental development in which numerous pioneering achievements such as the demonstration of quantum algorithms, digital quantum simulations, quantum error correction and quantum metrology were achieved. In 1999, Cirac and Zoller proposed a quantum computer based on cold atoms in optical lattices, in which two-qubit gates are executed by controlled collisions.[17] A year later, together with Mikhail Lukin and others, they presented an alternative way to implement these gates using Rydberg atoms.[18] With the ever-improving experimental control of neutral atoms in laser tweezers, this approach is becoming increasingly important.[19]

In 1998, Cirac and Zoller proposed the use of ultracold atoms in optical lattices as an analog quantum simulator for Hubbard models to investigate questions in solid-state physics.[20] This approach allows strongly interacting many-body systems to be probed in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium states, addressing key questions in the theory and design of correlated quantum materials and in regimes challenging for classical calculations.[21] The experimental development of this platform has led to a number of important advances, including the first observation of the transition between superfluidity and a Mott insulator,[22] the creation and study of topological quantum phases of matter with synthetic gauge fields, and the exploration of the 2D fermionic Hubbard model.

Also in 1998, a team led by Zoller presented the concept of quantum repeaters,[23] which overcame the problems associated with noise and the loss of photons in optical fibers and made quantum communication over long distances possible. Previously, they had discovered the possibility of entangling atoms by exchanging photons at a distance.[24] In 2001, they proposed a specific atomic setup to build such quantum repeaters.[25] These have become a crucial building block for the development and deployment of quantum communication.

Zoller's ideas and concepts attract widespread interest within the scientific community and his works are highly cited.[26][27]

Awards

Peter Zoller received honorary doctorates of the University of Amsterdam (2012),[28] the University of Colorado Boulder (2019),[29] and the University of Concepción (2024).[30]

For his achievements in the field of quantum optics and quantum information and especially for his pioneering work on quantum computers, quantum simulation and quantum communication he als received numerous prizes, these include:

  • Ludwig Boltzmann Prize (1983) of the Austrian Physical Society
  • Wittgenstein Award (1998), Austria's highest scientific distinction[31]
  • Max Born Award (1998) of the Optical Society of America[32]
  • Schrödinger Prize (1998) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Humboldt Research Award (2000)
  • Max Planck Medal (2005) of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft[33]
  • UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal (2005)
  • International Quantum Communication Award (2006)[34]
  • Dirac Medal of the ICTP (2006)[35]
  • BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2008), in the Basic Sciences category (with Ignacio Cirac)[36]
  • Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics (2010) of the Franklin Institute (with Juan Ignacio Cirac and David Wineland)[37]
  • Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics (2011)[38][39]
  • Blaise Pascal Medal in Physics of the European Academy of Sciences (2011)[40]
  • David Ben Gurion Medal (2013)
  • Wolf Prize in Physics (with Juan Ignacio Cirac) (2013)[2]
  • Herbert Walther Award from the OSA (2016)[41][42]
  • Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics (2018)[43]
  • Micius Quantum Prize (2018)[44]
  • Norman F. Ramsey Prize (2018) of the American Physical Society
  • John Stewart Bell Prize (2019)[45]
  • Le Prix de l’Académie of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (2025)[46]

In 2001, Peter Zoller became full member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.[47] In 2008 he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences[48] and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences,[49] in 2009 to the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences,[50] in 2010 to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina,[51] in 2012 to the European Academy of Sciences, in 2013 to the Academia Europaea,[52] in 2023 in the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei[53], and in 2024 to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Books

Peter Zoller and Crispin Gardiner have jointly written:

  • Quantum Noise; Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 2nd ed. 1999, 3rd ed. 2004 ISBN 3540223010
  • The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book I: Foundations of Quantum Optics, Imperial College Press, London and Singapore 2014. ISBN 9781783264605
  • The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book II: Physics of Quantum Optical Devices, Imperial College Press, London and Singapore 2015. ISBN 9781783266166
  • The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book III: Ultra-Cold Atoms, World Scientific, London and Singapore 2014. ISBN 9781786344175

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Biography Peter Zoller". University of Innsbruck. https://resource.iqoqi.at/staff_db/20241216_PZ_Curriculum-Vitae.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Peter Zoller – Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics 2013". Wolf Foundation. 11 December 2018. https://wolffund.org.il/peter-zoller/. 
  3. ↑ Zoller, Peter (1976) (in de). Der dynamische Starkeffekt in intensiven inkohärenten elektromagnetischen Feldern. Innsbruck. 
  4. ↑ "Über die lichtstatistische Abhängigkeit resonanter Multiphoton-Prozesse". University of Innsbruck. http://search.obvsg.at/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=UIB&docId=UIB_aleph_acc000589817&fn=permalink. 
  5. ↑ "Peter Zoller". JILA. https://jila.colorado.edu/people/zoller-0. 
  6. ↑ "Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information". IQOQI. http://iqoqi.at/en. 
  7. ↑ "The Boston Area Physics Calendar". Brown University. https://www.het.brown.edu/seminars/bapc/old.bapc/fall-spring-04.txt/2.16.04.txt. 
  8. ↑ "Lorentz Chair". Leiden University. http://www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/lorentzchair/. 
  9. ↑ "The Lewiner Institute for Theoretical Physics Distinguished Lecture Series". Technion. http://physics.technion.ac.il/~litp/dist/dist-program.php?&id=65. 
  10. ↑ "Physicists propose quantum entanglement for motion of microscopic objects". California Institute of Technology. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091221212821.htm. 
  11. ↑ "Eighth Arnold Sommerfeld Lecture Series". Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich. http://www.theorie.physik.uni-muenchen.de/activities/lectures/8th_series/index.html. 
  12. ↑ "Chairs". International Solvay Institutes. http://www.solvayinstitutes.be/html/chair.html. 
  13. ↑ "Prof. Peter Zoller is elected as "External Scientific Member" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics". Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. http://www.mpq.mpg.de/cms/mpq/en/news/awards/14_07_10.html. 
  14. ↑ "Benjamin Lee Professorship" (in ko). https://www.apctp.org/. 
  15. ↑ "Austria promotes quantum computing spin-off". Invest in Austria. March 7, 2018. https://investinaustria.at/en/news/2018/03/quantum-computer.php. 
  16. ↑ Cirac, J. I.; Zoller, P. (1995-05-15). "Quantum Computations with Cold Trapped Ions" (in en). Physical Review Letters 74 (20): 4091–4094. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.4091. ISSN 0031-9007. PMID 10058410. Bibcode: 1995PhRvL..74.4091C. https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.4091. 
  17. ↑ Jaksch, D.; Briegel, H.-J.; Cirac, J. I.; Gardiner, C. W.; Zoller, P. (1999-03-01). "Entanglement of Atoms via Cold Controlled Collisions" (in en). Physical Review Letters 82 (9): 1975–1978. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.1975. ISSN 0031-9007. Bibcode: 1999PhRvL..82.1975J. https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.1975. 
  18. ↑ Jaksch, D.; Cirac, J. I.; Zoller, P.; Rolston, S. L.; Côté, R.; Lukin, M. D. (2000-09-04). "Fast Quantum Gates for Neutral Atoms" (in en). Physical Review Letters 85 (10): 2208–2211. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.2208. ISSN 0031-9007. Bibcode: 2000PhRvL..85.2208J. https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.2208. 
  19. ↑ Bluvstein, Dolev; Evered, Simon J.; Geim, Alexandra A.; Li, Sophie H.; Zhou, Hengyun; Manovitz, Tom; Ebadi, Sepehr; Cain, Madelyn et al. (2024-02-01). "Logical quantum processor based on reconfigurable atom arrays" (in en). Nature 626 (7997): 58–65. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06927-3. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 38056497. Bibcode: 2024Natur.626...58B. 
  20. ↑ Jaksch, D.; Bruder, C.; Cirac, J. I.; Gardiner, C. W.; Zoller, P. (1998-10-12). "Cold Bosonic Atoms in Optical Lattices". Physical Review Letters 81 (15): 3108–3111. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.3108. Bibcode: 1998PhRvL..81.3108J. https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.3108. 
  21. ↑ Cirac, Ignacio; Zoller, Peter (2012). "Goals and opportunities in quantum simulation". Nature Physics (Nature Publishing Group) 8 (4): 264–266. doi:10.1038/nphys2275. Bibcode: 2012NatPh...8..264C. 
  22. ↑ Greiner, Markus; Mandel, Olaf; Esslinger, Tilman; Hänsch, Theodor W.; Bloch, Immanuel (2002-01-03). "Quantum phase transition from a superfluid to a Mott insulator in a gas of ultracold atoms" (in en). Nature 415 (6867): 39–44. doi:10.1038/415039a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11780110. Bibcode: 2002Natur.415...39G. https://www.nature.com/articles/415039a. 
  23. ↑ Briegel, H.-J.; Dür, W.; Cirac, J. I.; Zoller, P. (1998-12-28). "Quantum Repeaters: The Role of Imperfect Local Operations in Quantum Communication" (in en). Physical Review Letters 81 (26): 5932–5935. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.5932. ISSN 0031-9007. Bibcode: 1998PhRvL..81.5932B. https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.5932. 
  24. ↑ Van Enk, S. J.; Cirac, J. I.; Zoller, P.; Kimble, H. J.; Mabuchi, H. (1997-10-01). "Quantum state transfer in a quantum network: A quantum-optical implementation" (in en). Journal of Modern Optics 44 (10): 1727–1736. doi:10.1080/09500349708231842. ISSN 0950-0340. Bibcode: 1997JMOp...44.1727V. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09500349708231842. 
  25. ↑ Duan, L.-M.; Lukin, M. D.; Cirac, J. I.; Zoller, P. (2001-11-22). "Long-distance quantum communication with atomic ensembles and linear optics" (in en). Nature 414 (6862): 413–418. doi:10.1038/35106500. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11719796. Bibcode: 2001Natur.414..413D. https://www.nature.com/articles/35106500. 
  26. ↑ "Peter Zoller". Clarivate. https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/O-1639-2014. 
  27. ↑ "Google Scholar Citations". Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iKB_xp0AAAAJ&hl=en. 
  28. ↑ "Honorary doctorate for Prof. Peter Zoller". University of Amsterdam. http://iop.uva.nl/news-events/content/2011/11/honorary-doctorate-for-prof-peter-zoller.html. 
  29. ↑ "Everything you need to know about the May 9 commencement ceremon". University of Colorado Boulder. 30 April 2019. https://www.colorado.edu/today/2019/04/30/everything-you-need-know-about-may-9-commencement-ceremony. 
  30. ↑ "UdeC inviste como Doctor Honoris Causa al físico austríaco Dr. Peter Zoller" (in es). 2024-12-05. https://noticias.udec.cl/udec-inviste-como-doctor-honoris-causa-al-fisico-austriaco-dr-peter-zoller/. 
  31. ↑ "Wittgenstein Award Laureate 1998 Univ. Prof. Dr. Peter Zoller". Wittgensteinpreis TrägerInnen Club. http://www.wittgenstein-club.at/1998Zoller-en.htm. 
  32. ↑ "Max Born Award". The Optical Society. http://www.osa.org/awards_and_grants/awards/award_description/maxborn/. 
  33. ↑ "DPG Preisträgerinnen und Preisträger 2005". Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. http://www.dpg-physik.de/preise/preistraeger2005.html#Max-Planck-Medaille. 
  34. ↑ "2006 International Quantum Communications Award". National Institute of Information and Communications Technology. http://www.qcmc2006.org/awards.html. 
  35. ↑ "Dirac Medallist 2006". Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). http://www.ictp.it/about-ictp/prizes-awards/the-dirac-medal/the-medallists-%281%29/dirac-medallist-2006.aspx. 
  36. ↑ "Physicists Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller win the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences" (in en). 2009-01-29. https://www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es/noticias/physicists-ignacio-cirac-and-peter-zoller-win-the-bbva-foundation-frontiers-of-knowledge-award-in-basic-sciences/. 
  37. ↑ "Franklin Laureate Database – Peter Zoller". The Franklin Institute. http://www.fi.edu/winners/2010/zoller_peter.faw?winner_id=4440. 
  38. ↑ "Peter Zoller erhält Hamburger Preis für theoretische Physik". University of Hamburg. http://www.joachim-herz-stiftung.de/assets/pe_hamburgerpreisfuertheoretischephysik_20111125.pdf. 
  39. ↑ Stiftung, Joachim Herz. "Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics - Joachim Herz Stiftung" (in en-US). https://www.joachim-herz-stiftung.de/en/about-us/prices/hamburg-prize-for-theoretical-physics. 
  40. ↑ "The Blaise Pascal Medals 2011". European Academy of Sciences. http://www.eurasc.org/medals/pb_medals_11.asp. 
  41. ↑ "The Optical Society and DPG Name Peter Zoller Winner of the 2016 Herbert Walther Award". The Optical Society. 7 December 2015. http://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2015/the_optical_society_and_dpg_name_peter_zoller_winn/. 
  42. ↑ "Herbert Walther Award". The Optical Society. http://www.osa.org/en-us/awards_and_grants/awards/award_description/walther/. 
  43. ↑ "The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics". Physics of Quantum Electronics (PQE) conference. http://www.lambaward.org/. 
  44. ↑ "The Micius Quantum Prize". http://miciusprize.org/. 
  45. ↑ "Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller awarded the sixth Bell Prize" (in en). https://cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/bell-prize-winners/peter-zoller-and-ignacio-cirac-awarded-the-sixth-bell-prize/. 
  46. ↑ "Séance d'ouverture de l'année académique et réception des nouveaux membres titulaires". 2025-09-01. https://academieroyale.be/fr/actualites-detail/messages/seance-ouverture-annee-academique-reception-nouveaux-membres-titulaires-4nbspoctobre/. 
  47. ↑ "Member Directory: Peter Zoller". Austrian Academy of Sciences. http://www.oeaw.ac.at/english/about/personen/mitarbeiter/detail-page.html?user_oeawperssuche_pi1%5bid%5d=11002. 
  48. ↑ "Member Directory: Peter Zoller". United States National Academy of Sciences. http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/20017272.html. 
  49. ↑ "Foreign Members: Peter Zoller". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. https://www.knaw.nl/en/members/foreign-members/7966. 
  50. ↑ "Académicos Correspondientes Extranjeros". Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences. http://www.rac.es/2/2_3_5.php. 
  51. ↑ "List of Members: Peter Zoller". German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. http://www.leopoldina.org/en/members/list-of-members/member/1452/. 
  52. ↑ "Peter Zoller". The Academy of Europe. http://www.ae-info.org/ae/User/Zoller_Peter. 
  53. ↑ "Nuovi Soci 2023 | Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei" (in it). https://www.lincei.it/it/news/nuovi-soci-2023. 



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