Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI)

🔬⚛️ 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

Quantum Innovation Forum Austria 13.10.2026, Inns­bruck

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

🔬 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

🏆 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

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

🎉 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

📣 Today, Austrian universities take to the streets — and we at IQOQI Innsbruck stand firmly beside them.

The Austrian federal government is planning to cut university budgets by €1 billion for the 2028–2030 period — slashing funding from the already insufficient €16.5 billion down to €15.5 billion, at a time when inflation alone would require an increase to €18 billion just to maintain current operations.

This is not a trim. This is a dismantling.

For IQOQI, this is not an abstract concern. Our institute is deeply intertwined with the University of Innsbruck. We share infrastructure, students, and scientific vision. The university's strength is our strength.

Cuts of this magnitude would mean:
👩🏼‍🔬 Loss of talent — Early-career researchers and students driven abroad
🔗 Broken collaborations — Joint projects that put Austria on the global quantum map, at risk
🔬 Fewer discoveries — Less capacity for the frontier research that quantum technologies depend on

🇦🇹 Austria has built a world-class reputation in quantum physics. That reputation was not handed to us. It was earned through decades of sustained investment in people, infrastructure, and the freedom to ask bold questions.

It would take only one budget cycle to begin undoing it.

We know Minister of Science Eva-Maria Holzleitner is a genuine advocate for Austrian research — which is why we urge the government to match that commitment with adequate funding.

Science cannot be put on hold. Neither can we.

🎉 Congratulations to Elena Poli! 🎉

Elena, a former PhD student in the research group of Francesca Ferlaino, has been awarded the IQOQI Dissertation Prize 2025! 🏆

The prize has been recognizing outstanding scientific achievements in the field of quantum physics since 2013 — and Elena's work is a truly deserving recipient.

We warmly congratulate Elena on this well-earned honor and look forward to seeing all that she will continue to achieve in the world of quantum physics! ✨

Francesca Ferlaino has been awarded the Tyrolean Order of the Eagle in Gold by the Tyrolean state government.🎉

The award recognizes individuals who have contributed to Tyrol's development through their dedication — and Francesca has done exactly that over her 20 years in Innsbruck. As scientific director at IQOQI and a professor at the University of Innsbruck, her research in quantum physics has earned international recognition, including three ERC grants and pioneering work on suprasolid states. She also founded the Atom*innen network, promoting science communication and equal opportunity in research.

Congratulations — a well-deserved recognition! 👏

👉 Read more: https://iqoqi.at/en/current/news/1072-tyrolean-eagle-order-for-francesca-ferlaino

Photo: Land Tirol/Die Fotografen

📣 Theoretical physicist Elena Poli, a former PhD student in the research group of Francesca Ferlaino, received the IQOQI Dissertation Prize 2025. 🏆

The prize, worth EUR 1.000, has been awarded since 2013 as a recognition for outstanding scientific achievements in the field of quantum physics. We warmly congratulate Elena Poli on her success! 👏

In her dissertation, Elena Poli characterizes the dual-nature of supersolids – paradoxical quantum systems in which crystalline order coexists with superfluid flow. These states could be realized in the context of ultracold dipolar gases, a field in which the research group of Prof. Francesca Ferlaino is at the forefront.

more: https://iqoqi.at/en/current/news/1063-elena-poli-awarded-iqoqi-dissertaton-prize-2025