- Awards and Distinctions
The Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) is proud to announce that PhD candidate Piotr Roztocki was selected as a 2020 Paul Baran Young Scholar by the Marconi Society, which honors the world’s most innovative young engineers in Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Piotr Roztocki is the first Canadian to receive the award, acknowledging his innovative work in developing scalable quantum resources that can be used within existing telecommunications networks. Under the supervision of INRS Professor Roberto Morandotti, Roztocki’s work is now being commercialized as part of the Montreal start-up Ki3 Photonics Technologies, where he is a co-founder.The company offers a unique and compact photonic system that could be particularly interesting for defense applications and ultra-secure information transfer.
Piotr’s contributions take quantum photonics, which can offer major advances in next-generation information security, from the lab to global telecommunications networks. These innovations may be key in ensuring critical security infrastructures will be safe, even while current cryptographic methods may become vulnerable to attacks from increasingly mature quantum computing capabilities.
“A unique feature of our work is in the use of integrated photonic chips and optical fiber, rather than fragile and expensive setups, meaning that our quantum tools are scalable and compatible with existing communications infrastructures,” says Roztocki. His work in the on-chip generation of quantum light, exhibiting phenomena like photon entanglement, is a significant step in reducing the footprint and costs associated with quantum photonic technologies.
“While Piotr’s focus includes high-impact fundamental research targeting long-term payoffs, a majority of his work centers on applications critical to emerging industrial sectors and telecom markets,” said INRS Professor Roberto Morandotti. “Piotr’s interdisciplinary perspective bridges physics and telecommunications for truly creative results.”
To listen to Piotr Roztocki’s interview with the American cryptographer Paul Kocher: https://vimeo.com/443232479
About the Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award
The Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award honours the world’s most innovative young engineers in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Presented to researchers who are 27 years old or younger to commemorate Guglielmo Marconi’s age when he made his first successful wireless transmission, this award recognizes researchers who have shown extraordinary technical acumen, creativity and promise for using ICT in service of digital inclusion.
