On November 21, 2025, Peter Zoller, a renowned Austrian theoretical physicist, has been elected as a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) as part of the 2025 cohort of 27 newly elected foreign members.
Internationally recognized as one of the world’s most influential theoretical physicists, Zoller has made pioneering contributions to quantum optics, quantum computing, quantum simulation, and quantum communication.
Born on September 16, 1952, Zoller received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Innsbruck in 1977. After completing a Max Kade Fellowship at the University of Southern California, he returned to Innsbruck as an assistant professor in 1978. He later held positions as a JILA Visiting Fellow at the University of Colorado (1981, 1988) and as a guest professor at the University of Paris–Sud, Orsay (1986). In 1990, he became a JILA Fellow and a tenured full professor at the University of Colorado, as well as Co-Director of the NSF Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics. In 1994, he returned to the University of Innsbruck as Chair Professor of Theoretical Quantum Optics. Since 2003, he has also served as Scientific Director of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).
Zoller’s achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious honors. His distinguished lectureships include the Loeb Lectures at Harvard (2004), Chair Professorship at Tsinghua University, the Yan Jici Chair Professorship at the University of Science and Technology of China (2004), Lorentz Professorship in Leiden (2005), Gordon and Betty Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech (2008 & 2010), Arnold Sommerfeld Lecturer at LMU Munich (2010), Distinguished Fellow (2012) and External Member (since 2014) of the Max Planck Society at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Solvay Professor of Physics at the University of Brussels (2015), and Benjamin Lee Professor in South Korea (2025).
His major awards include the Ludwig-Boltzmann Award (1983), Max Born Award (1998), Schrödinger Prize (1998), Senior Humboldt Award (2000), Max Planck Medal of the German Physical Society (2005), Niels Bohr/UNESCO Gold Medal (2005), Dirac Medal of the ICTP (2006), Benjamin Franklin Medal (2010), Blaise Pascal Medal of the European Academy of Sciences (2011), Wolf Prize in Physics (with Juan Ignacio Cirac, 2013), Willis E. Lamb Award (2018), Norman F. Ramsey Prize of the APS (2018), and the Micius Quantum Prize (2018).
Zoller has made foundational contributions across atomic physics, many-body physics, and quantum information science. His groundbreaking proposals—such as quantum computing with trapped ions, quantum simulation using ultracold atoms in optical lattices, and quantum repeaters for long-distance quantum communication—have played a decisive role in translating theoretical concepts of quantum information science into experimental reality.
Zoller, together with an international group of quantum theorists, initiated the Interdisciplinary Quantum Theory Collaboration (IQTC), an open consortium within the Institute for Mathematics and Fundamental Physics (IMFP). The collaboration focuses on advancing emerging research at the intersection of quantum optics, many-body atomic and molecular physics, condensed-matter physics, quantum information science, precision metrology, as well as the simulation and detection of fundamental particles and fields relevant to particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics.
Zoller’s scientific insights and conceptual innovations have earned widespread recognition, and his publications remain among the most highly cited in the field. His election to the Chinese Academy of Sciences reflects his lasting impact on global quantum science and his ongoing contributions to advancing the frontiers of physics.