PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Andreas Winter

Also known as Andreas J. Winter

Andreas Winter is a mathematician whose quantum information research reaches into machine learning. He studied mathematics in Konstanz and Berlin, earned a doctorate at Bielefeld in 1999, and held research and professorial roles in Bristol and Barcelona before moving to Cologne. His work includes quantum state merging, quantum learning of classical stochastic processes, and a quantum information bottleneck linked to machine learning. He is Humboldt Professor of Quantum Information and Computation at the University of Cologne.

Born
1971
Works
434
Citations
24,622
h-index
79
Badges

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

Timeline

  1. 1997–1999

    Mathematics studies and doctorate

    He studies mathematics in Konstanz and Berlin, graduates from Freie Universität Berlin in 1997, and earns a mathematics doctorate at Universität Bielefeld in 1999 under Rudolf Ahlswede.

  2. 2001–2006

    Bristol and quantum state merging

    He joins Bristol's quantum information group as a postdoc in 2001, becomes a lecturer in applied mathematics in 2003, and becomes professor of the physics of information in 2006. With Michał Horodecki and Jonathan Oppenheim, he coauthors a 2005 paper defining quantum state merging as an optimal protocol for transferring a distributed quantum state; it shows that the state-merging rate can be negative.

  3. 2007–2012

    Leverhulme and Whitehead prizes

    He receives the Philipp Leverhulme Prize in 2007 and the London Mathematical Society's Whitehead Prize in 2012.

  4. 2012–2025

    ICREA professorship in Barcelona

    He moves from Bristol to Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2012 as an ICREA Research Professor in its quantum information group, and holds the professorship through 2025.

  5. 2014

    Quantum learning of stochastic processes

    In 2014, he and Alex Monràs study quantum realizations of classical stochastic processes. Their paper identifies potential applications in quantum machine learning and reverse-engineering stochastic processes and quantum processors.

  6. 2017–2022

    IEEE and QCMC awards

    He shares the IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award in 2017 with Charles H. Bennett, Igor Devetak, Aram W. Harrow and Peter W. Shor. In 2022, he receives one of the QCMC International Quantum Awards.

  7. 2018

    Quantum information bottleneck

    In 2018, he coauthors a paper with Nilanjana Datta and Christoph Hirche on the quantum information bottleneck function. It proves the function's convexity and gives it an operational interpretation.

  8. Since 2025

    Cologne quantum information chair

    Since April 2025, he is Humboldt Professor of Quantum Information and Computation at the University of Cologne. In 2025, the university appoints him as W3 professor on its new Quantum Information and Computing chair; in 2026, his group works at the intersection of physics, mathematics and computer science.

Career

  1. Since 2025University of CologneHumboldt Professor of Quantum Information and Computation
  2. 2023–2025Technical University of Munich
  3. 2012–2025Autonomous University of BarcelonaICREA Research Professor
  4. 2012–2025Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
  5. 2012–2025Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
  6. 2008–2016Centre for Quantum Technologies
  7. 2007–2016National University of Singapore
  8. 2001–2003University of BristolPostdoctoral Researcher

Education

  1. 1999Bielefeld UniversityMathematics doctorate
  2. 1997Freie Universität Berlin
  3. University of Konstanz

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

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Cologne. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Cologne. 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.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Cologne. 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.
  4. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes National University of Singapore. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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  1. Winter, Andreas – ICREA Memoir 2025 memoir.icrea.cat. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Winter, Andreas - Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) ias.tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Quantum state merging and negative information arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Andreas Winter – Grup d'Informació Quàntica (GIQ) webs.uab.cat. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Quantum learning of classical stochastic processes: The Completely-Positive Realization Problem arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Convexity and Operational Interpretation of the Quantum Information Bottleneck Function arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Universität zu Köln: Professor Dr. Andreas Winter uni-koeln.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Quantum Information and Computation cs.uni-koeln.de. Checked 20 October 2026.