PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Andreas Wallraff

Also known as Andreas J. Wallraff

Andreas Wallraff is a quantum physicist whose work on superconducting circuits supports quantum information processing and quantum machine learning. He studied physics at Imperial College London and RWTH Aachen, earned a PhD at Erlangen-Nuremberg in 2000, and coauthored a 2004 Yale report on photon-qubit coupling. After joining ETH Zurich in 2006, he received a 2020 Helmholtz International Fellow Award, and his group tested hybrid quantum-classical neural networks on superconducting hardware. The team performed a loophole-free Bell test and created certifiably perfect random numbers in 2026; Wallraff is a full professor, founding director of ETH's Quantum Center, and leader of the Quantum Device Lab.

Born
1971
Works
398
Citations
32,159
h-index
80
Badges
Links
Google Scholar, X and LinkedIn

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2000

    A physics doctorate

    After studying physics at Imperial College London and RWTH Aachen, he earns a physics PhD from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in 2000.

  2. 2004

    Circuit quantum electrodynamics

    At Yale, he coauthors a 2004 Nature report on coherent coupling between a single photon and a superconducting qubit.

  3. 2006

    Joining ETH Zurich

    He joins ETH Zurich's Department of Physics as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2006.

  4. 2020

    A Helmholtz fellowship

    He receives one of the 2020 Helmholtz International Fellow Awards from the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.

  5. 2023

    A Bell test with superconducting circuits

    His group performs a loophole-free Bell test with superconducting circuits in 2023.

  6. December 2024–November 2025

    Hybrid neural networks on quantum hardware

    From 2024 to 2025, his ETH group works with collaborators to implement hybrid quantum-classical neural networks on a superconducting processor.

  7. May 2026

    Certifiably perfect randomness

    In May 2026, teams led by Wallraff and Renato Renner create certifiably perfect random numbers using entangled superconducting qubits.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and quantum lab leader

    In Spring 2026, he teaches as a full professor of solid state physics at ETH Zurich, serves as founding director of the Quantum Center, and leads the Quantum Device Lab.

Career

  1. Since 2006ETH ZurichTenure-track Assistant Professor, Full Professor of Solid State Physics
  2. 2023–2026Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology
  3. 2003–2006Yale University
  4. 1996–1999Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

Education

  1. 2000Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergPhD
  2. Imperial College London
  3. RWTH Aachen University

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes ETH Zurich. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes ETH Zurich. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes ETH Zurich. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. Universities had a net outflow of 2,068 moves in AI careersIncludes ETH Zurich. Our estimates of career flows and median h-index across universities and companies in AI, including the role of joint appointments and earlier academic jobs.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Andreas Wallraff yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Andreas | Quantum Device Lab qudev.phys.ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Andreas Wallraff en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Yale Scientists Bring Quantum Optics to a Microchip news.yale.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Andreas Wallraff receives Helmholtz International Fellow Award 2020 | ETH Zurich ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Helmholtz International Fellow Award 2020 granted to Prof. Andreas Wallraff - JARA - Jülich Aachen Research Alliance jara.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Entangled quantum circuits | ETH Zurich ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Hybrid quantum-classical neural networks for the characterization of noisy intermediate scale quantum computers | HORIZON | CORDIS | European Commission cordis.europa.eu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Perfect randomness realised for the first time | ETH Zurich ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Course Catalogue - ETH Zurich vvz.ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. Steering Committee – Quantum Center | ETH Zurich qc.ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.
  11. Team | Quantum Device Lab qudev.phys.ethz.ch. Checked 20 October 2026.