January 19, 2023
QuiX Quantum appoints new CTO as predecessor becomes Chief Scientist
QuiX Quantum, market leader for quantum computing with light, has strengthened its technical leadership with the appointment of Dr. Devin Smith as Chief Technology Officer while co-founder and former CTO Dr. Jelmer Renema steps into the new role of Chief Scientist.
Devin Smith steps up as CTO of QuiX Quantum to lead the technology direction and development of the organization. He joined QuiX Quantum in 2021 and was previously a Senior Quantum Engineer leading the Quantum Science Team.
Smith has extensive experience in quantum optics, quantum information processing, and integrated photonics. He obtained his BSc in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University, Canada, his MSc in Quantum Computing at the Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Canada, and his PhD from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems at the University of Queensland, Australia. This focus on quantum computing and its architecture was driven by an early interest in the field.
He has also worked on integrated photonics as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the NTT Basic Research Laboratories in Japan, and as a Research Fellow at the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), University of Southampton in the UK.
Smith’s unique comprehension in both fields, quantum computing and integrated photonics, have allowed him to easily communicate across boundaries and between fields. His strong lead in the Quantum Science Team is essential for the development of the technology vision.
Jelmer Renema co-founded QuiX Quantum and provided technology leadership in the creation of the business and the technology. He is also active in the broader quantum and photonics ecosystem in his role as Assistant Professor of quantum optics at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
Renema gained his PhD from the University of Leiden, Netherlands in the Quantum Matter and Optics group. Simultaneously, he was a Junior Research Fellow at The Queen’s College, UK and a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Ultrafast Quantum Optics group led by Professor Ian Walmsley FRS at Oxford University, UK.
After obtaining a Veni Fellowship, he moved to the University of Twente in the Netherlands and co-founded QuiX Quantum in 2019. As he steps away from technology leadership, he will focus on the scientific and research-related activities of QuiX Quantum.
Dr.-Ing. Stefan Hengesbach, CEO of QuiX Quantum says: “I am delighted that Devin has agreed to become our CTO with Jelmer as Chief Scientist to continue his technical guidance,” as he explains, “Both Devin and Jelmer have played key roles in winning the contract to build a Universal Quantum Computer based on photonics for the German Aerospace Center. Continuing onto this goal, Devin will further develop our technology roadmap towards a quantum computer based on photonics which is fully integrated, industrial-grade, and based on our unique TriPleXTM waveguide technology."
“Building a useful quantum computer has been a goal of mine for nearly twenty years,” says Dr. Devin Smith, CTO of QuiX Quantum. “Our team will use our patented technology to turn that dream into reality.”
About QuiX Quantum: QuiX Quantum is the market leader for quantum computing hardware based on photonics. They are building the first Universal Quantum Computer based on photonics in Europe for the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The core technology is based on their commercialized market-leading product: the world’s most powerful patented Quantum Photonic Processor, enabling plug-and-play, integrated, and reconfigurable hardware configurations.
