QESSENCE: A Quintessential Quantum Leap

University of Warsaw is participating in yet another international consortium of a European grant, within the 7th Framework Programme, to reap practical benefits from the mysterious realm of quantum mechanics. The EU has granted QESSENCE (Quantum Interfaces, Sensors, and Communication based on Entanglement), which follows on from the 40-partner consortium QAP (Qubit Applications), a budget of €4.7 million over the next three years to explore quantum entanglement, both theoretically and experimentally. The total investment in the project is expected to be €6.5 million.

University of Warsaw is coordinating the entire programme, which started in February 2010. The Principal Investigator at University of Warsaw is dr hab. Konrad Banaszek, the project is managed by dr Agata Chęcińska. The project kick-off was held in Wien on 5-6 March 2010 with over 30 scientists from across Europe attending.

‘We are thrilled to be coordinating this collaborative project, which is expected to bring a number of breakthroughs in quantum information foundations and technologies’ said Professor Banaszek.

QESSENCE is a partnership of 22 industrial, academic and governmental institutions across the EU and around the world. Its mission is to develop realistic and complete schemes for executing ICT tasks. The consortium has identified several prospective application areas with the highest potential for significant impact from groundbreaking progress in controlling entanglement in real-world environments, and to stimulate pursuit of the commercialisation of innovation.

Project website:
http://www.qessence.eu