IQST Day 2026 at KIT

A Vibrant Gather­ing of the Quantum Community

On 23 Febru­ary 2026, the IQST community gathered at the Karls­ruhe Insti­tute of Techno­logy (KIT) for IQST Day 2026. Hosted in the Gaede Lecture Hall, the event brought together more than 200 parti­cipants from across academia and the broader quantum ecosys­tem for a full day of scientific exchange, discus­sion, and networking.

The day began with welcome remarks by IQST Direct­ors Stefanie Barz and Fedor Jelezko, joined by Ina Schae­fer, Vice Provost Research at KIT. In their opening addresses, they emphas­ized the import­ance of inter­dis­cip­lin­ary collab­or­a­tion and the growing strength of the quantum landscape in Baden-Württemberg and beyond.

The scientific program featured an outstand­ing lineup of inter­na­tion­ally renowned invited speak­ers. Costanza Toninelli (INO-CNR / LENS, Italy) opened the first session with insights into quantum inter­faces based on single molecules, followed by Julian Schmitt (Heidel­berg Univer­sity, Germany), who explored new fronti­ers in quantum matter made of light.

In the second session, Ian Walms­ley (Univer­sity of Oxford, United Kingdom) presen­ted perspect­ives on shaping the quantum future, before Carsten Rockstuhl (KIT) delivered an IQST Fellow talk on designed and inversely designed quantum nanophotonic systems.

After lunch and the first poster inter­ac­tions, the after­noon contin­ued with Klaus Blaum (Max Planck Insti­tute for Nuclear Physics, Germany), who discussed advances in quantum metro­logy using Penning traps, and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop (Univer­sity of Queens­land, Australia), who showcased optic­ally controlled quantum sensors.

The final session highlighted further IQST Fellow contri­bu­tions: Alexan­der Kühne (Ulm Univer­sity), Patrick Emonts (Ulm Univer­sity), and Julian Berberich (Univer­sity of Stutt­gart) presen­ted their latest research spanning molecu­lar quantum applic­a­tions, tensor networks, and quantum algorithms.

A group picture during the after­noon coffee break captured the strong sense of community before the event concluded with an exten­ded poster session and network­ing recep­tion. The poster session once again proved to be a central element of IQST Day, foster­ing lively discus­sions between senior research­ers, fellows, doctoral candid­ates, and industry representatives.

IQST Day 2026 marked the first time that KIT hosted this flagship IQST event, under­lin­ing the growing collab­or­a­tion within the network and the shared commit­ment to advan­cing quantum science and techno­logy through inter­dis­cip­lin­ary exchange.

We thank all speak­ers, fellows, contrib­ut­ors, and parti­cipants for making IQST Day 2026 a dynamic and inspir­ing success.

Opening remarks by the IQST Direct­ors, marking the start of IQST Day 2026 at KIT.
Ina Schae­fer, Vice Provost Research at KIT, address­ing the audience at IQST Day 2026.
Costanza Toninelli opening the scientific program of IQST Day 2026 with her invited talk.
Coffee break conver­sa­tions foster­ing exchange across insti­tu­tions and disciplines.
Ian Walms­ley opening Session 2 with his invited lecture.
Carsten Rockstuhl present­ing his work on quantum nanophotonic systems.
Lively exchange during the lunch break and poster session.
Klaus Blaum present­ing during Session 3 of IQST Day 2026.
Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop sharing insights on optic­ally controlled quantum sensors.
Conver­sa­tions and new connec­tions during the second coffee break.
IQST Fellow Alexan­der Kühne contrib­ut­ing to Session 4 at IQST Day 2026.
IQST Fellow talk by Patrick Emonts.
Julian Berberich present­ing his research during the final session of the day.
A buzzing poster session and network­ing recep­tion to conclude IQST Day 2026.

Foto: Sandra Göttisheim © IQST