Nicolas Cerf

Nicolas Cerf is a Full Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he heads the Centre for Quantum Information and Communication (QuIC). He has been a faculty member at ULB since 1998, initially as an associate professor and promoted to full professor in 2009. Cerf maintains visiting appointments at Caltech, MIT, and the University of Arizona, demonstrating his international standing in the quantum information community.

His educational background includes a M.Eng. in Electronics and Telecommunication (1987), M.Sc. in Physics (1988), and Ph.D. in Physics (1993), all from ULB. After his PhD, he was awarded a Marie Curie fellowship and worked at the University of Paris XI, followed by research faculty positions at Caltech before returning to ULB.

Nicolas Cerf's research focuses on quantum information science, with significant contributions including the discovery of the role of negative (conditional) entropies in quantum information theory, development of continuous-variable quantum cloning and cryptographic protocols, invention of the adiabatic quantum search algorithm, and establishing the fundamental quantum limit on information transmission via Gaussian bosonic channels. His work spans quantum information theory, quantum cryptography, quantum computation, quantum optics, and quantum foundations.

His recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate continued innovation in quantum information processing, particularly in boson sampling validation, Wigner entropy theory, majorization applications, and quantum channel capacities. These works show a consistent focus on both theoretical foundations and practical applications of quantum information principles.

• Marie Curie Excellence Award (2006)
• Caltech President's Fund award (1997)
• Alcatel-Bell scientific prize (1999)
• Prize of the Wernaers fund awarded by the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) (2000)
• Elected member of the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (2009)
• COVAQIAL project nominee for 2007 Descartes Prize

Nicolas Cerf has supervised numerous PhD students including Sofyan Iblisdir, Jérémie Roland, Gilles Van Assche, and many others. He has hosted many postdocs and senior scientists. His research has been supported by numerous European projects across multiple Framework Programs, including EQUIP, CHIC, RESQ, SECOQC, COVAQIAL, QAP, COMPAS, HIPERCOM, QALGO, QUCHIP, ShoQC, and AppQInfo.

As head of QuIC, Cerf leads a research team exploring cutting-edge topics in quantum information. The group maintains strong international collaborations and has been instrumental in establishing Belgium as a significant player in quantum information research. The team's work bridges theoretical developments with potential applications in quantum communication, quantum computing, and quantum cryptography.