Terra Quantum AG, a European quantum technology company, announced that Valerii Vinokur will be joining its staff as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO), United States, the company said in a statement.
Based in Chicago, Vinokur will oversee the project portfolio, with a particular focus on hardware components, while applying his deep experience to build out of the intellectual property and patent portfolio. With his strong international footprint in academia and the global scientific community, Vinokur will further strengthen Terra Quantum’s network with universities and science organizations.
“We’re delighted that Valerii will be joining Terra Quantum as CTO US,” said Markus Pflitsch, founder and CEO of Terra Quantum. “He is a true authority when it comes to world-leading quantum computing. Recently, professor Valerii Vinokur and professor Gordey Lesovik, Terra Quantum CTO in Europe, discovered that quantum systems could locally violate one of the most unshakable laws of nature, the famed Second Law of Thermodynamics. Building on this discovery, they performed an experiment only previously imagined in science fiction. By using the qubits of the IBM quantum computer as a highly controllable quantum system, they managed to force this quantum system to evolve backward in time. We are very excited to have Valerii’s scientific vision for the company. I cannot wait for our customers and partners to benefit fully from his expertise.”
Vinokur is a distinguished fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, a Foreign Member of the National Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and Fellow of the American Physical Society.
After more than two decades as a senior scientist in Argonne’s Materials Science division, where he made significant contributions to understanding topological properties of matter and their related phase transitions, the world-leading physicists joins, Terra Quantum. Vinokur’s work has shaped the course of low temperature physics. His research has been primarily focused on understanding topological quantum matter and superconductivity. In recent years, Vinokur has made seminal strides in understanding the role of topological interactions between vortices and Cooper pairs in disordered superconductors.
The appointment underpins Terra Quantum’s ambitions to accelerate commercial opportunities and large-scale adaption of quantum technologies worldwide. While American companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Google are racing to build reliable quantum computers, the European quantum ecosystem is still in its early stages. Deep tech pioneer Terra Quantum contributes substantially to the European build-out through its world-class expertise and launch of the first-ever Hybrid Quantum Cloud. With Vinokur as CTO US, Terra Quantum will strengthen its global positioning by building out its operations in the US.
“I’m a scientist by heart and have dedicated over 40 years to science and research. After spending the past two decades understanding topological quantum matter and superconductivity, I’m excited by the unprecedented and appealing possibilities of transforming my new upcoming discoveries into practical advances in quantum technologies that radically change the everyday practice and the life of mankind,” said Vinokur. “Terra Quantum is leading the Second Quantum Revolution and I’m delighted to join Markus and his outstanding team. Together, we will enable our common quantum leap into the future. The team has the courage, determination and entrepreneurial spirit to make this happen.”
Vinokur’s academic career has been recognized and awarded by the international science and research community. In 2003, he shared the International John Bardeen Prize, which is awarded to scientists who have provided significant insights into the nature of superconductivity, leading to verifiable predictions. In the same year, he received the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award granted to internationally leading researchers in recognition of their academic record. In 2017 Vinokur received the International Abrikosov Prize for developing pioneering concepts describing vortex matter in type-II superconductors.
His foundational works on disordered superconductors, which included the discovery of the superinsulating state and the theory of this state that he developed with Christina Diamantini and Carlo Trugenberger, was marked in 2020 by one of the most prestigious awards in physics, the Fritz London Memorial Prize. The Prize was awarded in recognition of his pioneering work on the theoretical investigation of superconductivity in disordered materials and type II superconductivity.
The international team at Terra Quantum brings together the best minds from science, academia and industry to address the most fundamental questions of quantum physics and its manifestations in the world around us. They are building quantum technology for a better future, making it more accessible to businesses, breaking down the barriers between science and industry and laying the foundations of a real quantum tech ecosystem and value chain. Terra Quantum has the potential to transform every corner of modern technology: the cars we drive, the planes we fly in, the medicines we take and the industrial processes that produce everything from fertilizers to batteries for electric vehicles.
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