PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Gregor Weihs

Gregor Weihs is an experimental quantum physicist whose work on single and entangled photons supports quantum information, optical quantum computing and quantum communication. Born in 1971, he studied physics and mathematics at Innsbruck, earned an MSc there in 1994, coauthored a 1998 Bell-inequality experiment that enforced locality, and completed a Vienna PhD under Anton Zeilinger in 2000 with the distinction sub auspiciis praesidentis. After research posts at Stanford and Tokyo, he held a Canada Research Chair in Quantum Photonics at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing from 2005, joined Innsbruck in 2008 and was part of a team funded for photon sources for quantum information processing. He served as Vice-President for Natural Sciences and Engineering at the Austrian Science Fund from 2016 to 2021 and received the Wilhelm Exner Medal in 2018; his laureate lecture described optical quantum computing and quantum-computer networks. His 2025 FWF project develops entangled-photon sources for quantum communication and quantum-computer networks; as of October 2026, he is Vice-Rector for Research and Professor of Photonics at Innsbruck's Institute for Experimental Physics, and Rector-elect for a term that begins in March 2027.

Born
1971
Works
345
Citations
16,137
h-index
49
Badges

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

Timeline

  1. 1971–1994

    A physics MSc at Innsbruck

    Born in 1971, he studies physics and mathematics at the University of Innsbruck and earns an MSc there in 1994.

  2. 1998

    A test of Bell's inequality

    In 1998, he coauthors an experiment that violates Bell's inequality with independent observers and fully enforces locality.

  3. 2000

    A PhD under Anton Zeilinger

    He completes a PhD at the University of Vienna under Anton Zeilinger in 2000 with the distinction sub auspiciis praesidentis.

  4. 2008

    Photon sources for quantum information

    Before Innsbruck appoints him in 2008, he works as a Consulting Assistant Professor at Stanford and a Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo. From 2005, he holds the Canada Research Chair in Quantum Photonics at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. In April 2008, a team that includes him wins US$1.365 million to develop nanostructured single and entangled photon sources for quantum information processing.

  5. 2016–2021

    Austrian Science Fund vice-president

    From 2016 to 2021, he serves as Vice-President for Natural Sciences and Engineering at the Austrian Science Fund.

  6. 2018

    A Wilhelm Exner Medal

    He receives the Wilhelm Exner Medal in 2018. His laureate lecture describes semiconductor quantum dots, nanowires and waveguides as sources for single photons and entangled pairs, technologies for optical quantum computing and quantum-computer networks.

  7. October 2025

    Bright Entanglement via Dark States

    In October 2025, the FWF starts his project Bright Entanglement via Dark States. It aims to create time-entangled photon pairs from semiconductor quantum dots for quantum communication and quantum-computer networks.

  8. July 2026

    Elected Rector of Innsbruck

    In July 2026, the University Council elects him Rector of Innsbruck for a term beginning in March 2027. As of October 2026, he is Vice-Rector for Research and Professor of Photonics at the University's Institute for Experimental Physics, and he directs research for the Quantum Science Austria cluster.

Career

  1. Since 1996Universität InnsbruckProfessor of Photonics
  2. 2016–2021Austrian Science FundVice-President for Natural Sciences and Engineering
  3. 2005–2008University of WaterlooCanada Research Chair in Quantum Photonics
  4. 2003–2008University of TokyoResearch Fellow
  5. 2002–2008Stanford UniversityConsulting Assistant Professor

Education

  1. 2000University of ViennaPhD
  2. 1994Universität InnsbruckMSc in physics and mathematics

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 University of Waterloo. 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 University of Waterloo. 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. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes Stanford University. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes Universität Innsbruck. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.

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. Gregor Weihs – Universität Innsbruck uibk.ac.at. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Gregor Weihs zum Rektor der Universität Innsbruck gewählt – Universität Innsbruck uibk.ac.at. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Violation of Bell's inequality under strict Einstein locality conditions arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Weihs mediengipfel.at. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. $1.3M Award Winning Team | Institute for Quantum Computing | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Zur Medaille - Wilhelm Exner Medaillen Stiftung wilhelmexner.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Lectures 2018 - Wilhelm Exner Medaillen Stiftung wilhelmexner.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Projectdetail - FWF fwf.ac.at. Checked 21 October 2026.