PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Luming Duan

Also known as L.-M. Duan, Lu-Ming Duan, 段路明

Luming Duan is a quantum-information physicist at Tsinghua University whose group proposed a quantum machine learning algorithm based on a generative model. After degrees at the University of Science and Technology of China in 1994 and 1998, he proposed the DLCZ quantum repeater scheme in 2001 with Mikhail Lukin, Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller, joined the University of Michigan in 2003, and became Fermi Collegiate Professor there in 2012. In 2018, he moved to Tsinghua full time and published a Science Advances paper with students Xun Gao and Zhengyu Zhang on a quantum generative model with exponential speedup in learning and inference for some instances, under a complexity-theory assumption. He was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023, and in 2024 his group trapped 512 ions in a two-dimensional crystal and he received the International Quantum Award. He is the Yao Qizhi Chair Professor and Chair Professor of Basic Sciences at Tsinghua University.

Timeline

  1. 1994–1998

    Degrees at USTC

    He earns a bachelor's degree in 1994 and a doctorate in 1998 at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He stays at the university after graduation and holds the posts of associate professor and then professor.

  2. 2001

    The DLCZ quantum repeater

    In 2001, he publishes a Nature paper with Mikhail Lukin, Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller on long-distance quantum communication with atomic ensembles and linear optics. The scheme, called DLCZ after its four authors, uses laser manipulation of atomic ensembles, beam splitters and single-photon detectors to carry out robust quantum communication over long lossy channels.

  3. 2003–2012

    Professor at Michigan

    He is appointed an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in 2003, receives tenure in 2007, and is named Fermi Collegiate Professor in 2012. In 2004, he wins an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and publishes with H. J. Kimble a Physical Review Letters scheme for photonic quantum computation, in which single-photon pulses reflect from an optical cavity holding one trapped atom. He is elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2009.

  4. 2010–2019

    Chair professorships at Tsinghua

    In December 2010, he takes up the CC Yao Professor post at Tsinghua University while at Michigan. In 2018, he resigns from Michigan and becomes a full-time professor at Tsinghua's Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, and in April 2019 he is named the first Tsinghua Fundamental Science Chair Professor.

  5. December 2018

    A quantum generative model

    In December 2018, he publishes "A quantum machine learning algorithm based on generative models" in Science Advances with his students Xun Gao and Zhengyu Zhang. They prove the model represents probability distributions with exponentially more power than classical generative models, and show exponential speedup in learning and inference for some instances under a complexity-theory assumption.

  6. 2022–2023

    Chinese Academy of Sciences academician

    He is named an inaugural New Cornerstone Fellow in 2022 and is elected an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in November 2023. His proposals include a network approach to scaling quantum computing and the DGCZ criterion, the first entanglement criterion for continuous-variable quantum systems.

  7. 2024

    A 512-ion quantum simulator

    In 2024, his group at Tsinghua traps a two-dimensional crystal of 512 ions and runs quantum simulation with 300 ion qubits, reported in Nature, where the previous record was 61 ion qubits. The QCMC conference awards him the International Quantum Award 2024 for the DLCZ scheme, the Duan-Kimble scheme for scalable optical quantum computing, and the 300-ion simulator.

  8. As of October 2026

    Yao Qizhi Chair Professor

    As of October 2026, he is the Yao Qizhi Chair Professor and the Chair Professor of Basic Sciences at Tsinghua University, with research on quantum computers and quantum networks.

Career

  1. Since 2010Tsinghua UniversityCC Yao Professor; Fundamental Science Chair Professor; Yao Qizhi Chair Professor; Chair Professor of Basic Sciences, Full-Time Professor
  2. From 2003University of MichiganAssistant Professor; Fermi Collegiate Professor
  3. From 1998University of Science and Technology of ChinaAssociate Professor, then Professor

Education

  1. 1998University of Science and Technology of ChinaPh.D.
  2. 1994University of Science and Technology of ChinaBachelor's degree

From the biography.

  1. People shaping AI who were born in China spent 54% of recorded working years there from 2018 onIncludes Luming Duan. We estimate that people shaping AI who were born in China spent 54% of recorded working years there in 2018–2026, up from 51% in 2008–2017.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Tsinghua University. 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.
  3. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Tsinghua University. 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.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Tsinghua University. 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.

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 Luming Duan yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Duan Luming-Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS) iiis.tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Long-distance quantum communication with atomic ensembles and linear optics arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Prof. Luming Duan Takes up "CC Yao Professor"-Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS) iiis.tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Professor Luming Duan Elected as New CAS Academician-Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS) iiis.tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Scalable photonic quantum computation through cavity-assisted interaction arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Prof. DUAN Luming named first Tsinghua Fundamental Science Chair Professor cqi.tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Prof. Duan’s Group Discovered a Quantum Machine Learning Algorithm Based on Generative Models-Tsinghua University tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. An efficient quantum algorithm for generative machine learning arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. A quantum machine learning algorithm based on generative models - PMC pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Prof. Luming Duan’s group achieved largest-scale ion trap quantum simulation cqi.tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  11. A Site-Resolved 2D Quantum Simulator with Hundreds of Trapped Ions arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  12. Chinese Academy of Sciences Academician Luming Duan awarded the 2024 International Quantum Prize cqi.tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  13. Quantum Awards 2024 quantum.iitm.ac.in. Checked 21 October 2026.