Dirk Robert Englund is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is known for his research in quantum photonics and optical computing.

Biography and education

Dirk Robert Englund grew up in Germany and California. He attended the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

, where he majored in physics and received his B.S. in 2002. After spending one year at the Technical University of Eindhoven on a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

, he returned to the United States to earn his M.S. in electrical engineering and Ph.D. in

applied physics Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering. "Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination of fac ...

from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 2008 under the supervision of Jelena Vuckovic. He then completed postdoctoral research in the group of

Mikhail Lukin Mikhail Lukin (); born 10 October 1971) is a Russian theoretical and experimental physicist and a professor at Harvard University. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2018. Early life Mikhail "Misha" Lukin was born in M ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Dirk Englund is the son of American Assyriologist, Robert Keith Englund.

Career and research

From 2010 to 2013, Englund was an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and of Applied Physics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. In 2013, he moved to

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Englund’s research focuses on photonic devices and systems for quantum information technologies and machine learning acceleration. He has contributed to a wide range of topics in photonics including quantum dot light emission in photonic crystals, solid-state quantum memories in nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond,

graphene Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...

integration for photodetectors, optical accelerators for machine learning, and programmable photonic circuits for cryogenic environments. In 2022, he and his team demonstrated power-efficient neural network inference on network edge devices using a fiber optic link and telecommunication components. His work has led to several spin-off companies: DUST Identity is developing diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers for authentication; Lightmatter is developing photonic computing platforms; QuEra Computing is building quantum computers using neutral atoms; and

Quantum Network Quantum networks form an important element of quantum computing and quantum communication systems. Quantum networks facilitate the transmission of information in the form of quantum bits, also called qubits, between physically separated quantum ...

Technologies is developing quantum repeaters for networks.

Awards

Englund has received numerous awards in recognition of his research, including a Humboldt Professorship, the Optica Adolph Lomb Medal, and an IBM Faculty Award. He is an Optica Fellow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Englund, Dirk German physicists German engineers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people