Prof. Anton Zeilinger - a Nobel laureate, world-renowned quantum physicist and long-standing collaborator of the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies (ICTQT) at the University of Gdańsk - has joined the ranks of foreign members of the Polish Academy of Sciences. His candidacy was put forward by our university.

Foreign membership of the PAS is one of the highest honours awarded to scientists from outside Poland. It is conferred upon researchers of recognised international standing whose scientific achievements and collaboration with the Polish research community contribute to the development of science and the strengthening of Poland’s position in the global research landscape.

According to the PAS, 90 valid applications were submitted during this year’s selection process. Following an assessment of the candidates, the PAS’s divisions recommended 66 individuals for election. In Division III of Exact and Earth Sciences, 13 candidates were selected from among the 20 nominated, including prof. Anton Zeilinger, nominated by the University of Gdańsk.

Prof. Anton Zeilinger is one of the most distinguished contemporary experimental physicists and a professor at the University of Vienna. His research into quantum entanglement and the fundamentals of quantum mechanics has led to groundbreaking discoveries that have laid the foundations for modern quantum technologies. In 2022, together with John Clauser and Alain Aspect (who also collaborates with the University of Gdańsk), he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments using entangled photons and pioneering research into the violation of Bell’s inequalities.

Professor Anton Zeilinger has been associated with the University of Gdańsk for over three decades. Since the 1990s, he has been collaborating with prof. Marek Żukowski and his team, resulting in numerous joint scientific publications, including a groundbreaking paper on entanglement swapping. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of quantum physics and quantum information theory, the Senate of the University of Gdańsk awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2006.

This joint research also contributed to the establishment of two research centres that are crucial for the development of Polish quantum technologies: the National Quantum Information Centre at the University of Gdańsk, founded in 2007, and the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies (ICTQT), which has been operating since 2018. Both centres are now among the most important centres for research into quantum technologies in Poland and are recognised on the international stage.

‘The election of prof. Anton Zeilinger as a foreign member of the PAS is a mark of recognition for one of the most outstanding contemporary physicists, whose research has set the direction for the development of global science. For us, this is also a source of satisfaction, as this selection confirms the standing of the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies as one of the strongest in Poland and recognised worldwide,’ emphasises the Vice-Rector for Research, prof. Wiesław Laskowski.