Interview: Dr. Tommaso Calarco, Director / Coordinator, Peter Grunberg Institute, FZ-Julich & Quantum Support Action Group, EU Quantum Flagship
Dr. Tommaso Calarco, Director / Coordinator at the Peter Grunberg Institute, FZ-Julich & Quantum Support Action Group at EU Quantum Flagship talks to us about the future of Quantum technology and what he's looking forward to at the upcoming Quantum.Tech event taking place this September in Boston.
What are you most looking forward to at the Quantum.Tech conference?
I’m curious to see the presence of industry at the event, to witness how broad the scope of industry is and in learning about the ongoing Quantum developments. I’d also like to gauge the synergy of industry and academia; how does it operate at the moment and how can this relationship be improved?
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the adoption of Quantum technology in 2019/ 2020?
Overview of challenges across all 3 streams of Quantum.Tech:
- Communication challenges – overcoming 1 km of key distribution& the development of QKD’s
- Computing challenges - restrictive pull of algorithms at the moment. The biggest challenge is developing broader, more applicable algorithms specific to Quantum computing.
- Sensing challenges – robustness of existing sensing models & cost effectiveness of the Quantum technologies to use for broader deployment.
What is going to be the biggest area of focus for your organisation within Quantum over the next 12 months?
Everything! At the European Quantum Flagship the main target is to ramp up the presence of the flagship, get projects developing the out-put they were intended, ensuring they are better organized to develop future projects and to ensure they continue to receive funding from the European Commission.
Top tips: What is the best single piece of advice you can give to an enterprise looking to start their Quantum journey?
Be open-minded, think broadly across industries. Be aware that whilst there are some products nearer commerciality, there is still a lot of on going research and development.
If you look 3 years into the future, what do you consider will be the biggest impact Quantum technology will have on your industry?
I’m very cautious to make grandiose assumptions of the future – as a scientist it is very difficult to make such prediction. If I had been asked the same question 3 years ago, I would never have imagined the amazing progress that has already been made, by new companies as well as some unlikely ones. The main developments will be made in Quantum Computing – there are many demonstrations and experiments being done in this space Achieving Quantum Supremacy (US) / Quantum Advantage (Europe) will make a huge difference!
To learn more about Dr. Calarco and to find out when he's speaking at Quantum.Tech, September 10-11, 2019, go to: