QLAB is home to four research groups that together cover the full chain of quantum technologies: from cryptographic protocols with mathematically proven security, through quantum light sources, detectors, and programmable photonic circuits, to super-resolution microscopy and hybrid quantum-AI algorithms. Each group has its own concrete research goal – and a common denominator: photonics, the processing of information carried by light.
The groups do not work in isolation. Protocols developed by the quantum communication team run on hardware built by the photonic infrastructure team; its light sources and interfaces in turn feed the imaging platforms and the processors of the computing group. The measurement tools of the metrology team validate the other systems, while the AI group’s algorithms optimize how they perform. This division of labor – closer to an engineering team than to a classical faculty structure – makes it possible to take an idea from equation to working prototype within a single center.
And the results do not stay in the lab. We test our prototypes in the real infrastructure of our partners. The goal of the four-year program: patents, industrial demonstrators, and solutions ready for deployment in telecommunications, cybersecurity, medical diagnostics, and space technologies.
We design quantum communication and cryptography systems whose security is guaranteed by the laws of physics. We protect wide-area networks and critical infrastructure against cyber threats – today and in the era of quantum computers.
We develop highly efficient photonic components and integrate them with quantum systems. We create modern light sources and test protocols under industrial conditions.
We build multimode photonic platforms that surpass classical detection limits. We develop innovative, ultra-sensitive microscopy systems for medical applications.
We unite quantum computing with artificial intelligence. We develop hybrid algorithms and neuromorphic models, creating quantum software and photonic processors for next-generation systems.
Group Leader: Prof. Magdalena Stobińska-Moretto, Ph.D., D.Sc.
About the research area: Modern cryptography rests on assumptions about an adversary’s computing power – assumptions that quantum computers may soon overturn. Our team goes one step further: we develop device-independent quantum key distribution (DI QKD) protocols whose security follows directly from the laws of quantum mechanics and holds even when the hardware is imperfect or comes from an untrusted vendor. We proposed the first scalable DI QKD protocol, overcoming long-standing barriers of range and efficiency. We advance security proofs based on the Entropy Accumulation Theorem (EAT), and design hybrid systems that merge quantum and post-quantum cryptography. Our demonstrators will be validated in Poland’s quantum network operated by PSNC, part of the pan-European EuroQCI infrastructure.
Key results: Cyber-resilient solutions – secure even against future quantum attacks – for wide-area networks and the protection of critical infrastructure, bringing the global quantum internet a step closer.
Group Leader: Michał Karpiński, Ph.D., D.Sc.
About the research area: The primary goal of the group is the development of modern photonic components and their seamless integration with quantum systems and existing ICT infrastructure. Researchers are working on novel, highly efficient quantum light sources, advanced detection technologies, and programmable photonic circuits. The team also creates specialized interfaces that ensure full interoperability and collaboration between classical and quantum systems.
Key results: The development of methods that enable the testing, validation, and full optimization of hybrid protocols in real-world industrial conditions.
Group Leader: Radosław Łapkiewicz, Ph.D., D.Sc.
About the research area: The team focuses on advancing multimode photonic platforms that make it possible to surpass current classical physical limits in measurement and detection. Research encompasses the design of pioneering quantum imaging techniques, such as photon-correlation-based super-resolution microscopy, quantum optical tomography, and methods for mitigating light scattering. A significant aspect of the work involves detector array engineering and the direct integration of quantum effects into optical systems.
Key results: The construction of a new generation of ultra-sensitive microscopy and measurement systems, tailored for medical applications and advanced industrial sectors.
Group Leader: Recruitment in progress (via the International Scientific Committee)
About the research area: Artificial intelligence is transforming the world, but its appetite for energy is growing at an unsustainable pace. Our answer combines the two most promising paradigms of modern computing: quantum processing and neuromorphic architectures modeled on the human brain – the most energy-efficient computer we know. The group develops hybrid quantum-classical algorithms optimized for real NISQ-era processors: from algorithms based on discrete quantum transforms, through reservoir computing, to generative language models and autonomous quantum agents.
Key results: A new generation of quantum software and novel photonic processors.
Join us: We are building this group from the ground up and looking for an outstanding scientist to lead it and shape its research profile. We offer four years of funding, the freedom to build your own team, and access to unique infrastructure and global technology partners. Link to the job ad.
