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. We 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. We 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.

This field 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. Our group is a part of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo.

Motivated students are very welcome to contact Professor Thomas Jennewein directly for more details. Our laboratory is primarily located at the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC).

Thomas Jennewein is an affiliate faculty member of the Institute for Quantum Computing and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo.  As of May 2024 he is a professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair at the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University.

He is an affiliate of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo and a scholar of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) in the Quantum Information Processing program, and an associated member of INO. His research focuses on the applications of quantum photonics and quantum optics, in particular for long-distance quantum communications in free-space and with satellites, as well as fundamental aspects of the quantum world.

Prof. Jennewein completed his PhD in 2002 at the University of Vienna. His thesis research on quantum communication and teleportation experiments with entangled photon pairs was awarded the Loschmidt-Prize by the Austrian Physical-Chemical Society. From 2004–2009, Prof. Jennewein was a Senior Scientist at the Vienna branch of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI), working on experimental quantum photonics. Prof. Jennewein has played a key role in the advancement of long-distance transmission of entangled photons over free space, and his work on quantum cryptography using entangled photons was selected by the American Physical Society as one of the “Top Ten Highlights of 2000.”

Prof. Thomas Jennewein

Research Scientists and Collaborators

Dr. Paul Godin

Dr. Brendon Higgins

Dr. Katanya Kuntz

Sung Eun (Paul) Oh

Dr. Shihan Sajeed

Dr. Yujie Zhang

Management & Administration

Brian Moffat

 PhD Students

Pablo Palacios Avila

Alex Kirillova

Kimia Mohammadi

Henri Morin

Luke Neal 

Justin Schrier

Stéphane Vinet

Wilson Wu (SFU)

Masters Students

Howard Schimmer (SFU)

Kaylee Sherk 

Undergrad Students 

Former Members & Collaborators