Jonathan Pritchard

Professor Jonathan Pritchard is the Judith and Harold Rosenberg Chair in Quantum Computing and an RAEng Senior Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde, where he is Head of the Experimental Quantum Optics and Photonics Group within the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science. His research is centered on developing scalable neutral atom quantum computing platforms and quantum sensing technologies.

His research focuses on neutral atom quantum computing, quantum LIDAR, and quantum sensing using Rydberg atoms. His group pioneered the UK’s first scalable neutral atom quantum computing platform through the SQuAre EPSRC Prosperity Partnership with M Squared Lasers, achieving fault-tolerant single-qubit gate operations on up to 225 qubits. Current work includes developing a cryogenic dual-species system for quantum error correction. His team’s research has led to the commercial Maxwell platform.

Recent publications (2024–2025) highlight advancements in quantum metrology with entangled spin systems, graph optimization on Rydberg arrays, and quantum-enhanced, jamming-resistant rangefinding. These works reflect a strong trend in applying quantum control techniques to practical quantum computing and sensing applications.

• RAEng Senior Research Fellowship (2023)
• Quantum Technology Fellowship (2015)

Jonathan Pritchard leads multiple funded research projects, including the Hub for Quantum Computing via Integrated and Interconnected Implementations (QC13) and a studentship on error-correction in neutral atom systems. He supervises PhD students and is actively involved in professional service, including invited talks, conference organization, peer review, and external PhD examinations. He leads the Experimental Quantum Optics and Photonics Group, which is at the forefront of quantum technology development in the UK, with strong industry collaboration through M Squared Lasers.