Peter Zoller (born 16 September 1952) is a theoretical physicist from Austria. He is

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

and works on quantum optics and quantum information and is best known for his pioneering research on

quantum computing A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of wave-particle duality, both particles and waves, and quantum computing takes advantage of this behavior using s ...

and quantum communication and for bridging quantum optics and

solid state physics Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as solid-state chemistry, quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state p ...

Biography

Peter Zoller studied physics at the

, obtained his doctorate there in February 1977, and became a lecturer at their Institute of Theoretical Physics. For 1978/79, he was granted a Max Kade stipend to research with Peter Lambropoulos at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. In 1980, he stayed at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

, as a researcher with the group around Dan Walls. In 1981, Peter Zoller handed in his book "Über die lichtstatistische Abhängigkeit resonanter Multiphoton-Prozesse" at the University of Innsbruck to qualify as a professor by receiving the " venia docendi". He spent 1981/82 and 1988 as visiting fellow at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and 1986 as guest professor at the Université de Paris-Sud 11,

Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...

. In 1991, Peter Zoller was appointed Professor of Physics and JILA Fellow at JILA and at the Physics Department of the University of Colorado, Boulder. At the end of 1994, he accepted a chair at the University of Innsbruck, where he has worked ever since. From 1995 to 1999, he headed the Institute of Theoretical Physics, from 2001 to 2004, he was vice-dean of studies. Peter Zoller continues to keep in close touch with JILA as Adjoint Fellow. Numerous guest professorships have taken him to all major centers of physics throughout the world. He was Loeb lecturer in

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, MA (2004) and Yan Jici chair professor at the

University of Science and Technology of China The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) is a public university in Hefei, China. It is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and co-funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education of the People' ...

Hefei Hefei is the Capital city, capital of Anhui, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or ''metro'') area is made up of four u ...

, chair professor at Tsinghua University,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

(2004), Lorentz professor at the University of Leiden in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

(2005), Distinguished Lecturer at the Technion in Haifa (2007), Moore Distinguished Scholar at

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

(2008/2010) and Arnold Sommerfeld Lecturer at LMU München (2010). In 2012/13 he was "Distinguished Fellow" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, Munich. In 2014 he has been elected as an "External Scientific Member" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. In 2015 he held the International Jacques Solvay Chair in Physics at the University of Brussels . Since 2003, Peter Zoller has also held the position of Scientific Director at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 2018, Peter Zoller co-founded Alpine Quantum Technologies, a

hardware company.

Research

As a theoretician, Peter Zoller has written major works on the interaction of laser light and

atoms Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished from each other ...

. In addition to fundamental developments in quantum optics he has succeeded in bridging quantum information and solid state physics. The model of a quantum computer, suggested by him and Ignacio Cirac in 1995, is based on the interaction of lasers with cold

ions An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

confined in an electromagnetic trap. The principles of this idea have been implemented in experiments over recent years and it is considered one of the most promising concepts for the development of a scalable quantum computer. Zoller and his researcher colleagues have also managed to link quantum physics with solid state physics. One of his suggestions has been to build a quantum simulator with cold atoms and use it to research hitherto unexplained phenomena in high temperature superconductors. Zoller's ideas and concepts attract widespread interest within the scientific community and his works are highly cited.

Books

Peter Zoller and Crispin Gardiner have jointly written the books * C W Gardiner and Peter Zoller: ''Quantum Noise''; Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 2nd ed. 1999, 3rd ed. 2004 * Crispin Gardiner and Peter Zoller: ''The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book I: Foundations of Quantum Optics'', Imperial College Press, London and Singapore 2014. * Crispin Gardiner and Peter Zoller: ''The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book II: Physics of Quantum Optical Devices'', Imperial College Press, London and Singapore 2015. * Crispin Gardiner and Peter Zoller: ''The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book III: Ultra-Cold Atoms'', World Scientific, London and Singapore 2014.

Awards

Peter Zoller has received numerous awards for his achievements in the field of quantum optics and quantum information and especially for his pioneering work on quantum computers and quantum communication. These include: * the John Stewart Bell Prize (2019) * the Norman F. Ramsey Prize (2018) of the American Physical Society * the Micius Quantum Prize (2018) * the Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics (2018) * the Herbert Walther Award from the OSA (2016) * the Wolf Prize in Physics (with Juan Ignacio Cirac) (2013) * the Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics (2011) * the Blaise Pascal Medal in Physics of the European Academy of Sciences (2011) * the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics (2010) of the Franklin Institute (with Juan Ignacio Cirac and David Wineland) * the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2008), in the Basic Sciences category (''ex aequo'' with Ignacio Cirac) * the Dirac Medal of the ICTP (2006) * the 6th International Quantum Communication Award (2006) * the UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal (2005) * the

Max Planck Medal The Max Planck Medal is the highest award of the German Physical Society , the world's largest organization of physicists, for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics. The prize has been awarded annually since 1929, with few exceptions ...

(2005) of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft * the Humboldt Research Award (2000) * the Schrödinger Prize (1998) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences * the Max Born Award (1998) of the Optical Society of America * the Wittgenstein Award (1998), Austria's highest scientific accolade * the Ludwig Boltzmann Prize (1983) of the Austrian Physical Society. In 2001, Peter Zoller became full member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 2008 he was elected to the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 2009 to the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, in 2010 to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, in 2012 to the European Academy of Sciences, in 2013 to the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

, and in 2023 in the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He received

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s of the University of Concepción (2024), the University of Colorado Boulder (2019) and the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

(2012).

References

External links

*
Biography Peter Zoller

Peter Zoller
at th
Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI)Quantum Optics Theory GroupUniversity of InnsbruckPeter Zoller’s Thomson Reuters RESEARCHERID
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoller, Peter 1952 births Living people Austrian physicists Quantum physicists Optical physicists University of Innsbruck alumni University of Southern California alumni Harvard University staff University of Colorado Boulder faculty Academic staff of Paris-Sud University Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of Academia Europaea UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal recipients Wolf Prize in Physics laureates Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Quantum information scientists Winners of the Max Planck Medal Fellows of the American Physical Society Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates