Prof. Dr. Ignacio Cirac

Honorary Professor at TUM since 2002

Career

Born in Manresa, Spain. In 1988, he graduated in Theoretical Physics from the Complutense University, Madrid (Spain), and gained his PhD in 1991. Between 1991 and 1996, he was Associate Professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) and Research Associate at the University of Colorado, Boulder (USA). From 1996 until 2001 he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Innsbruck (Austria). Since 2001 he is a member of the Max Planck Society and director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching (Germany). In 2002 he also became honorary professor at the Technical University of Munich. He carries out research in quantum computing, quantum optics and many-body physics. He is a member of the Spanish and German (Leopoldina) Academies of Sciences, and corresponding member of the Austrian. He holds six honorary doctorships.

    Functions

    • Co-Speaker of the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) (since 2019)
    • Speaker of the International Max-Planck Research School Quantum Science and Technology (since 2016)
    • Director of the Theory Division, Max-Planck Institut für Quantenoptik, and member of the Max-Planck Society (since 2001)
    • Founding Managing Editor, Quantum Information and Computation (since 2001)
    • Professor at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Leopold Franzens Universität Innsbruck (1996-2001) 

    Awards

    • Max Planck Medal of the German Physical Society (2018)
    • Wolf Prize in Physics (2013)
    • Benjamin Franklin Medal (2010)
    • BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2009)
    • Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research (2006)