PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Norbert Lütkenhaus

Also known as Norbert Lutkenhaus, Norbert Luetkenhaus

Norbert Lütkenhaus is a quantum-communication physicist who studies the security of practical quantum key distribution (QKD), the use of quantum mechanics to share secret keys. After studying physics at Aachen and Munich, he earned a PhD at the University of Strathclyde in 1996 and joined MagiQ Technologies in 2000 to start the first commercial realization of QKD. In 1999, he coauthored a paper with Gilles Brassard, Tal Mor and Barry Sanders that found existing experimental QKD schemes usually totally insecure, and in 2004 he coauthored a security proof with Daniel Gottesman, Hoi-Kwong Lo and John Preskill for devices with small flaws. He led an Emmy-Noether Research Group at Erlangen from 2001 to 2005, became an associate professor at Waterloo in 2006, co-founded evolutionQ in 2015, and became a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2017. Since 2022, he is executive director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, where he is also a professor of physics and astronomy.

Now at
University of Waterloo and European Telecommunications Standards Institute
Badges

Timeline

  1. 1990–1996

    Physics from Aachen to Strathclyde

    He studies physics at RWTH Aachen, earning a BSc in 1990, and at LMU Munich, where he completes a Diplom in 1993 with a thesis in general relativity. He then turns to quantum optics and quantum cryptography under Stephen M. Barnett at the University of Strathclyde and earns his PhD in 1996.

  2. 1997–2001

    Postdocs and MagiQ Technologies

    He holds postdoctoral positions at Innsbruck, with Peter Zoller and Ignacio Cirac, and at the Helsinki Institute of Physics, where he is a senior scientist from 1997 to 2000. In 2000, he joins MagiQ Technologies in New York as project leader and initializes the first commercial realization of quantum key distribution.

  3. 1999–2000

    Limits of practical quantum cryptography

    He coauthors a 1999 paper with Gilles Brassard, Tal Mor and Barry C. Sanders on the security of practical quantum key distribution, published in Physical Review Letters in 2000. It examines channel losses and realistic detection, and shows that existing experimental schemes are usually totally insecure.

  4. 2001–2005

    An Emmy-Noether group in Erlangen

    In 2001, he builds up and leads an Emmy-Noether Research Group at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, which he runs until 2005. In 2004, he coauthors a proof with Daniel Gottesman, Hoi-Kwong Lo and John Preskill that the BB84 protocol stays secure when the source and detector are under the limited control of an adversary.

  5. Since 2006

    Professor at Waterloo

    He becomes an associate professor at the Institute for Quantum Computing and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo in 2006, and a professor in 2011. He runs the Optical Quantum Communication Theory Group, which works on the theory of practical quantum key distribution systems.

  6. 2015

    Co-founding evolutionQ

    In 2015, he co-founds the quantum-safe cybersecurity company evolutionQ with Michele Mosca and serves as its chief technology officer. The Kitchener-Waterloo company closes a US$5.5 million Series A round in 2022.

  7. 2017

    American Physical Society Fellow

    He is named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2017, recognized for theoretical contributions to quantum secure communications and optical quantum information processing.

  8. As of October 2026

    Executive director of IQC

    He is executive director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, appointed in January 2022 for a five-year term, and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Waterloo. He serves as vice-chair of the ETSI Industry Specification Group on Quantum Key Distribution. In 2025, his group's review of mathematical security proofs for a common QKD method, part of the Qu-Gov project funded by Germany's Bundesdruckerei, finds that the proofs vary in rigor and assumptions.

Career

  1. Since 2006University of WaterlooAssociate Professor, Professor
  2. NowEuropean Telecommunications Standards InstituteVice-chair
  3. From 2015evolutionQCo-founder, Chief Technology Officer
  4. 2001–2005Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-NürnbergEmmy-Noether Research Group Leader
  5. From 2000MagiQ TechnologiesProject Leader
  6. 1997–2001Universität InnsbruckPostdoctoral Researcher
  7. 1997–2000Aalto UniversitySenior Scientist

Education

  1. 1996University of StrathclydePhD
  2. 1993LMU MunichDiplom
  3. 1990RWTH Aachen UniversityBSc

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Norbert Lütkenhaus. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Waterloo. 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.

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. Norbert Lütkenhaus | Institute for Quantum Computing | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Norbert Lutkenhaus | Physics and Astronomy | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Norbert Lütkenhaus – Intl Cryptographic Module Conference icmconference.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. [quant-ph/9911054] Security Aspects of Practical Quantum Cryptography arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. [quant-ph/0212066] Security of quantum key distribution with imperfect devices arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. University of Waterloo quantum expert-led EvolutionQ aims to help orgs “prepare for the quantum age” betakit.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. evolutionQ Secures $5.5 Million (US) in Series A Funding thequantuminsider.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. IQC faculty member named Fellow of the American Physical Society uwaterloo.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. Friday, February 11, 2022 | Daily Bulletin | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  10. Canadian quantum talent helps drive global research to certify quantum communications | Waterloo News | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.