Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI)

18/09/2026

📢 Applications are open for the IQOQI Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship in Quantum Science 2027!

The Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Innsbruck is looking for outstanding early-career researchers in theoretical or experimental quantum physics. The fellowship runs for 2 years (with an optional 3rd), and offers:

✅ A competitive salary and social benefits
✅ Full freedom to collaborate with any research group at IQOQI
✅ The independence to pursue your own project line

Candidates should have completed their PhD by the time they start, and are encouraged to identify possible collaborations with at least one IQOQI Innsbruck research group in their application.

IQOQI is strongly committed to improving gender balance in physics and particularly welcomes applications from female scientists.

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2026
🔗 Apply here: https://iqoqi.at/en/apply/iqoqi-prize-postdoctoral-fellowship

16/09/2026

📢 Quantum Fellowship Call now open at the Universität Innsbruck!

Ready to take the next step in your quantum research career? Quantum Science Austria and the University of Innsbruck are looking for outstanding early-career researchers to join the quantA community and pursue innovative research in one of our three core areas:

• Quantum Nature of Space, Time, and Gravity
• New Paradigms for Quantum Information Science
• Physics of Engineered Quantum Many-Body Systems

Four postdoctoral fellowships will be funded through this call. Each fellowship runs for 18 months and provides the opportunity to work with a quantA PI at the University of Innsbruck.

Fellows receive a postdoctoral salary according to the Austrian collective agreement and can use up to €10,000 for eligible research expenses.

📅 Call open: 15 September 2026
⏳ Deadline: 15 November 2026, 23:59 anywhere on Earth
📍 University of Innsbruck

Applicants must have received their PhD within the past three years or have officially submitted their PhD thesis by the application deadline.

We particularly encourage applications from women and members of other underrepresented groups.

👉 Full call and application details: https://www.quantumscience.at/funding/quanta-fellowship-call-2026

📷 University of Innsbruck

14/09/2026

🔬❄️ The World of Ultracold Quantum Gases

In this episode of the Austrian Radio Ö1's "Frauen forschen" ("Women in Research"), host Elke Ziegler talks with Francesca Ferlaino — Austria's Scientist of the Year 2026 — about her groundbreaking work in ultracold quantum gases. The conversation was recorded live at the RadioCafe of the ORF RadioKulturhaus on May 20, 2026.

Francesca's work using rare-earth elements has drawn major international attention, and together with her team she succeeded in realizing an entirely new state of matter in the lab — one that had long been predicted theoretically.

🎙️ A fascinating look at the frontiers of quantum physics — and the woman pushing them forward.

🔗 Listen here: https://oe1.orf.at/programm/20260913/844479/Die-Welt-der-ultrakalten-Quantengase

#Ö1

"Frauen forschen": Die bahnbrechenden Arbeiten von Francesca Ferlaino, der Wissenschaftlerin des Jahres 2026

19/08/2026

🔬 Quantum simulators just got error bars!

Researchers from TUM and the University of Innsbruck/IQOQI have developed a way to put quantitative accuracy limits on quantum simulation results — a major step for trusting these systems as they grow beyond what classical computers can check.

The new method not only reconstructs the dynamics of a quantum system from experimental data, but can also quantify the uncertainty of the predictions derived from it. It was demonstrated in Innsbruck, Austria, on an ion-trap quantum computer with up to 51 qubits.

As team member Tristan Kraft put it: no real experiment is perfect — interactions can differ from expectations, environments interfere, and measurements carry their own uncertainty. This new approach learns how a quantum simulator actually behaves from experimental data, then calculates how the uncertainties in this model affect the simulation results. So it delivers a result with error margins, not just a single number.

🎯 The team, led by Tristan Kraft of the Technical University of Munich and Peter Zoller of the Universität Innsbruck and IQOQI Innsbruck, together with Barbara Kraus, first validated the method on a 10-ion system that's still checkable by classical computers, then scaled it up to a 51-ion chain, proving it works where classical verification no longer can.

Next up: extending the technique to 2D quantum simulators, where classical cross-checks become even harder and potentially paving the way to quantitatively measuring real "quantum advantage."

📄 Published in Physical Review X: https://doi.org/10.1103/s96t-n8tx
🔗 Full story: https://iqoqi.at/en/current/news/1085-quantum-simulators-get-error-bars



📸: Markus R. Knabl

05/08/2026

🔬⚛️ Save the date: Quantum Innovation Forum Austria!

On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Innsbruck becomes the meeting point for quantum computing in Austria! The Quantum Innovation Forum Austria brings together researchers, industry leaders, and application experts to explore the transformative potential of quantum computing — from today's applications to tomorrow's breakthroughs.

📍 Where: BTV Stadtforum, Stadtforum 1, Innsbruck
🕘 When: 9:00 – 15:00
💶 Free to attend!

What to expect:
✨ Keynotes & panel discussions on the economic potential of quantum computing
✨ Real-world use cases from industry and VC perspectives
✨ The latest in quantum hardware development
✨ A look at Austria's growing quantum ecosystem
✨ Great networking opportunities across research, industry, and applications

Confirmed speakers/partners include: Alpine Quantum Technologies, Boston Consulting Group, Erste Group, IBM, Munich Quantum Software Company, Onsight Ventures, and Software Competence Center Hagenberg.

Proudly co-organized with the Universität Innsbruck and Quantum Science Austria (quantA) IQOQI is excited to be a partner of this event! 🚀

👉 Register now: https://www.uibk.ac.at/en/congress/quantum-innovation-forum-austria/

Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften

13.10.2026, Inns­bruck

08/07/2026

🎬 New Short Documentary: "Quantum Nation – Austria at the Center of the Quantum Revolution"

Austria is today one of the world's leading hubs for quantum research and Innsbruck shines especially bright in this story! 🏔️⚛️

This video takes you on a journey through Austria's unique quantum ecosystem: From quantum computers and quantum communication to quantum sensing – researchers, companies, and institutions here are working together on the technologies of tomorrow.

🎥 Watch the documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uOqyQ7SLk8

„Quantum Nation – Österreich im Zentrum der Quantenrevolution" eine...

25/06/2026

🔬 What if you could map out seven entirely new states of matter and then show exactly how to build them in the lab?

That's precisely what researchers from Innsbruck and Turin have done. A team led by Francesca Ferlaino (IQOQI / University of Innsbruck) and Luca Barbiero (Politecnico di Torino) has developed a new theoretical model using ultracold magnetic atoms — specifically Erbium and Dysprosium — trapped in a one-dimensional optical lattice.

The result: a rich map of seven exotic quantum phases. The most remarkable of these is a so-called topological triplet superconductor, a state in which superconductivity and topological order exist simultaneously.

Why does it matter? Topological superconductors are among the most promising candidates for fault-tolerant quantum computing.

The best part: the team has laid out a concrete, step-by-step roadmap for realizing and detecting all seven phases using existing experimental setups.

The study has been published in Nature Communications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71248-8

Read more on this: https://iqoqi.at/en/current/news/1081-new-blueprint-for-exotic-quantum-states

15/06/2026

🏆 Big congratulations to Hannes Pichler! 🎉

Hannes has been awarded the prestigious Antonio Feltrinelli Giovani Prize in Physics by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy's oldest and most renowned scientific academy.

The award ceremony took place on June 12 in Rome, in the presence of Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and comes with a €50,000 prize recognizing exceptional researchers under the age of 40. Hannes was honored for his pioneering work at the crossroads of quantum optics, quantum information, and many-body physics.

This recognition adds to an already remarkable list of accolades — including the ERC Starting Grant, the New Horizons in Physics Prize from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, and several other distinguished honors in recent years.

We are incredibly proud to have Hannes as part of the IQOQI Innsbruck family. This achievement is a testament to the world-class quantum research happening right here in Innsbruck! 🔬⚛️

🔗 Read the full story: https://iqoqi.at/en/current/news/1079-feltrinelli-prize-awarded-to-hannes-pichler

10/06/2026

Klemens Hammerer delivered his inaugural lecture at the Universität Innsbruck on Tuesday evening. The theoretical physicist, who has been leading a research group at IQOQI Innsbruck since 2025, presented his research program at the interface of , quantum information, and precision measurement.

https://iqoqi.at/en/current/news/1077-quantum-measurement-at-its-limits

28/05/2026

🎉 Peter Zoller has been elected a Fellow of The Royal Society — the world's oldest scientific society and the UK's national academy of sciences.

Peter is the first scientist from Innsbruck to receive this prestigious honor, joining a fellowship that includes Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, and Stephen Hawking.

His pioneering theoretical work has shaped the foundations of modern quantum science — from the Cirac–Zoller trapped-ion quantum computer to quantum simulation with ultracold atoms, Rydberg-atom quantum gates, and quantum repeaters for long-distance communication.

We are incredibly proud! 🏅

🔗 https://iqoqi.at/en/current/news/1075-peter-zoller-elected-fellow-of-the-royal-society

📸 Markus R. Knabl