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Prof. Christian Kurtsiefer also accepted the invitation to Heilbronn as part of the Global Technology Forum, organized by TUM Campus Heilbronn. He is co-founder of the Center for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore – a man who recognized where the journey was headed as early as the early 2000s. “Quantum technology was still in its infancy back then,” he recalls.

An Early Glimpse Into the Quantum future

In 2003, he decided to pack up his tents in Germany and set up shop in Singapore. “The opportunities there were fantastic. From basic research to application – everything was possible.” According to Kurtsiefer, Singapore is an ideal country for research – open, curious, with its sights set on the future. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, the message was: “Bring us your ideas, we will support whatever you come up with.” This opportunity to build something new from scratch and help shape it led him and a few international colleagues to establish the Center for Quantum Technologies shortly thereafter.

But amid the spirit of optimism, doubts also arose: “Do we even have a chance against all the established fields?” These concerns quickly faded, and the research center blossomed, growing year after year. The center now consists of a range of different research fields: “We are a mix of physicists, computer scientists, mathematicians, and now more and more engineers are joining us.”

Kurtsiefer focuses on atomic physics with the aim of investigating new approaches for building future quantum computers.

Research without Vanity, but with Vision

Today, there are many different technologies—such as superconducting circuits or atomic systems—and it is still completely unclear which one will prevail in the long term. It is important to the research center to show interested parties from industry or government agencies what current quantum computers can and cannot do using simple demonstration systems.

Scientific substance and quality are more important to the professor than visibility and quick, marketing-relevant successes. He wants to remain true to himself and not be distracted by false vanity.

Christian Kurtsiefer is completely dedicated to his work. And so this morning he is in the right place in Heilbronn, where the atmosphere is buzzing with ideas, exchanges, critical discussions, and a spirit of optimism.