Thomas Jennewein

Dr. Jennewein's main research passion is how to achieve quantum communications and a Quantum Internet on a global scale. In particular he is currently pursuing the use of satellites to accomplish intercontinental distances, and is possible with today’s technology.

His field of research combines information processing technologies with the laws of quantum physics and is at the forefront of research today, giving rise to powerful new information tools such as quantum computing and quantum cryptography.

• Quantum communication and quantum computation experiments using entangled photons
• Quantum teleportation
• Orbital angular momentum of photons
• Long distance quantum communication via optical fibers, free space, and satellite based links
• Foundations of physics and quantum information, entanglement in large and complex systems
• Quantum Science
• Quantum Communication
• Photonics
• Optical Systems
• Satellite Payload Development

Dr. Jennewein is actively driving a very strong program with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), supported by a team of academic and industrial partners, of which he is the principal investigator. The mission proposal he has established is called QEYSSat (Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite). Several projects and studies were funded by the CSA since 2010. One of the ongoing studies includes the development of the satellite payload systems. Jennewein's team, together with 5 industry partners designed the systems, built prototypes and tested them in our UW labs. Most notably, they undertook a test campaign at TRIUMF in Vancouver to expose our photon detector devices to Proton radiation equivalent to the space environment, which yielded very promising results. Furthermore, Dr. Jennewein was recently awarded a FAST grant from CSA to study quantum communication experiments with airborne platforms, with their support for a stratospheric balloon or an aircraft and will help them advance the readiness of the satellite payload. The research in the Quantum Photonics Laboratory centers on the applications of quantum photonics and quantum optics, as well as the fundamental aspects of the quantum world. They are involved in the experimental design and demonstrations of quantum photonics devices suitable for communication and computing with photons, and the development of ultra-long distance quantum communication systems using terrestrial and satellite-based systems. They are developing photonic quantum entanglement sources for various quantum protocols, and have pioneered the direct generation of three photon entangled states from cascaded parametric down conversion.

• 2002, Doctorate Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
• 1997, Master of Science Physics, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
• 1994, Bachelor of Science (BSc) Physics, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

• 2007, International ARC Research Fellowship, Australian Research Council
• 2002, Loschmidt prize of the Austrian Physical-Chemical Society for the PhD Thesis

• Faculty, Institute for Quantum Computing
• Affiliated member, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

• ECE 105 - Classical Mechanics
  • Taught in 2023
• PHYS 115 - Mechanics
  • Taught in 2022, 2023
• PHYS 242 - Electricity and Magnetism 1
  • Taught in 2020
• PHYS 768 - Special Topics in Quantum Information Processing
  • Taught in 2019, 2021, 2023
• QIC 890 - Topics in Quantum Information
  • Taught in 2019, 2021, 2023

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Bourjoin, J.-P., Meyer-Scott, E., Higgins, B.L., Helou, B., Erven, C., Hübel, H., Kumar, B., Hudson, D., D'Souza, I., Girard, R., Laflamme, R., Jennewein, T. A comprehensive design and performance analysis of low Earth orbit satellite quantum communication. New Journal of Physics (2013) 15, pp. 023006(1)-023006(35).
• Erven, C., Meyer-Scott, E., Fisher, K., Lavoie, J., Higgins, B.L., Yan, Z., Pugh, C.J., Bourgoin, J.-P., Prevedel, R., Shalm, L.K., Richards, L., Gigov, N., Laflamme, R., Weihs, G., Jennewein, T., Resch, K.J. Experimental three-photon quantum nonlocality under strict locality conditions. Nature Photonics (2014) 8, pp. 292-296.
• Hübel, H., Hamel, D.R., Fedrizzi, A., Ramelow, S., Resch, K.J., Jennewein, T. Direct generation of photon triplets using cascaded photon-pair sources. Nature Physics Letters (2010) 466, pp. 601-603.
• Shalm, L.K., Hamel, D.R., Yan, Z., Simon, C., Resch, K.J., Jennewein, T. Three-photon energy-time entanglement. Nature Physics Letters (2013) 9, pp. 19-22.

• Nanotechnology Now - Waterloo invention advances quantum computing research: New device, which will be used in labs around the world to develop quantum technologies, produces fragile entangled photons in a more efficient way. February 16th, 2015
• CBC – “What Is Quantum Computing and Why Should You Care?” January 23rd, 2015
• SPIE – “Progress Toward A Quantum Communication Satellite” May 1st, 2014
• The Economist – “The Solace of Quantum” May 25th, 2013
• The Record – “Imagining a Quantum Future” May 3rd, 2013
• Motherboard – “How a Quantum Satellite Network Could Produce a Secure Internet” – March 26th, 2013
• Scientific American – “Quantum Teleportation in Space Explored as Message Encryption Solution” March 15th, 2013
• Wired – “The Race to Bring Quantum Teleportation to Your World” October 3rd, 2012
• Yahoo Canada News – “Canadian Scientists Help Break Quantum Teleportation Distance Record” September 13th, 2012
• Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics – “World Record: Quantum Teleportation Over 143 Kilometers” September 6th, 2012
• Science Daily – “Quantum Teleportation Goes The Distance: Record-breaking Distance of 143 Kilometers Through Free Space” September 5th, 2012
• The Economist – “Entanglement Takes Off” February 24th, 2012