QUBITECH’s vision is to bridge the gap between theoretical quantum science and real-world applications by delivering practical, high-performance solutions. Our work spans experimental quantum-inspired simulators, Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs), and post-quantum cryptography schemes (design and implementation). We actively contribute to European research initiatives and industry collaborations, enabling the transition to future-proof, quantum-resistant digital infrastructures.
Key Research Areas
- Quantum and Quantum-Inspired Computing Paradigms: Quantum and quantum-inspired computing are driving the next generation of computational technologies, offering new paradigms for solving complex problems across industries. QUBITECH develops spatial photonic Ising machines relying on holographic techniques to address NP-hard optimization problems with scalable and energy-efficient solutions. In parallel, QUBITECH focuses on the development of a proprietary quantum computing simulator capable of emulating circuit-based quantum computers, enabling the testing and validation of quantum algorithms on classical hardware. Our research bridges the gap between theoretical advances and practical implementations in high-performance computing.
- Post Quantum Cryptography: As quantum computing advances, safeguarding both legacy and next-generation digital infrastructures becomes critical. QUBITECH focuses on the theoretical design and secure implementation of quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms, leveraging a hardware/software co-design approach to ensure efficient and resilient integration. Our solutions meet the demands of both existing and future systems, delivering scalable, future-proof security that protects sensitive data and communications from emerging quantum-era threats. These technologies are engineered for deployment across government, defense, and industry applications.
- Hardware based security: Establishing trust at the hardware level is fundamental to securing next-generation digital infrastructures. QUBITECH develops hardware-based security solutions that provide robust protection for a wide range of connected devices and critical systems, particularly at the edge and far edge of networks. By leveraging device-specific manufacturing variations, we enable the creation of high-entropy cryptographic keys and secure authentication mechanisms. These solutions, built on advanced electronic and photonic Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs), deliver reliable, tamper-resistant security foundations for critical applications across government, defense, and various industrial sectors
- Quantum-Inspired Ising Machines: Development of scalable quantum-inspired photonic Ising machines capable of solving NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems using spatial light modulators and room-temperature operation.
- Quantum Computing: Development of a gate-based Quantum Computing emulator for classical computing systems, enabling seamless testing and validation of quantum algorithms
- Quantum- and physics-inspired Optimization Algorithms: Design and development of novel optimization algorithms inspired by quantum and complex physical systems, delivering accelerated and energy-efficient optimization solutions.
- Ising-as-a-Service Platforms: Cloud-based services providing user-friendly access to photonic Ising machines for optimization tasks across industries, including logistics, energy grids, and circuit design
- Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs): Development of SRAM-based and photonic PUFs as hardware-based Roots-of-Trust for secure authentication and key generation in resource-constrained environments (edge and far-edge IoT devices) as well as for centralized key management and distribution.
- Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Authentication: PUF-based protocols for secure authentication of QKD nodes, ensuring the integrity and supporting trustworthiness of existing and next-generation quantum communication systems.
- Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC): HW/SW co-design and implementation of quantum-resistant cryptographic primitives and hardware secure elements towards safeguarding future communication infrastructures.
- Enabling long-range QKD: Exploration of hybrid quantum-safe cryptosystems composed of traditional/PQC and PUF-based schemes for the deployment of flexible and modular quantum-secure networks that leverage the complementarity of PQC and QKD.
- Holographic Ising Parameters Encoding: QUBITECH has designed and developed two innovative encoding schemes, Spin Pair Encoding (SPE) and Eigenvector Multiplexing (EVM), for use in SPIMs. SPE directly encodes the pairwise interactions of the Ising Hamiltonian, while EVM leverages the optical multiplexing of eigenvectors. Both methods enable the scalable simulation of real-life discrete optimization problems, including NP-hard tasks commonly found in logistics networks, energy grids, financial systems, and machine learning. [Projects: HEISINGBERG, HoloCIM]
- Control Software for Ising Machines: Engineering a hardware-agnostic, modular control software library built on ISO/IEC 25010:2017 standards, QUBITECH’s platform coordinates the entire pipeline of Spatial Photonic Ising Machine operations. It delivers a user-friendly interface, making complex quantum-inspired photonic computing accessible and efficient. [Projects: HEISINGBERG, HoloCIM]
- Physics-Inspired Optimization: QUBITECH’s physics-inspired computational framework addresses discrete and continuous optimization problems by leveraging models rooted in gain-dissipative systems and physics-inspired neural networks. These approaches mimic the dynamics of complex physical systems to achieve scalable, high-performance solutions on GPU-based architectures, delivering efficient convergence for both combinatorial optimization and Physics-inspired ML applications.
- QKD Nodes Authentication: Design and development of an SRAM-based PUF add-on module, harmonically interacting with commercially available QKD systems, providing a strong authentication mechanism for QKD nodes without the need for externally stored secrets. [Project: HellasQCI]
- Lightweight HW-based Trust Anchors: Cost efficient, dynamically adjustable PUF-based solution that can be connected externally with any edge and far-edge IoT device, enabling the secure lifecycle management of such resource constrained devices. [Projects: ENTRUST, SEQURED]
- Lattice-based KEMs and Signatures: Secure implementations of Kyber and Dilithium PQC schemes towards PQ-TLS protocol extension. [Projects: PIQASO, SEQURED]
- Quantum Computing Emulator: Design and development of a gate-based quantum computing emulator, optimized for classical hardware acceleration using GPUs and multicore CPUs, enabling efficient simulation and validation of quantum algorithms without the need for quantum hardware access.
- Quantum Machine Learning: Design and development of a quantum machine learning framework focused on algorithmic exploration, enabling the implementation, simulation, and benchmarking of hybrid and fully quantum algorithms for near-term and future quantum hardware
Description
HoloCIM proposes an advanced holography-based photonic Ising Machine designed to efficiently solve complex combinatorial optimization problems (COPs) - problems that remain intractable for conventional digital computing architectures. By leveraging novel principles in holography and nonlinear photonics, HoloCIM aims to deliver a scalable and energy-efficient optimization platform. The project also envisions the creation of an online user interface, providing remote scientific and commercial access to the technology for research institutions, academia, and industry.Key Contributions
QUBITECH serves as the project’s scientific and technical coordinator, overseeing both hardware and software development activities. It led the experimental advancement of the Spatial Photonic Ising Machine (SPIM), delivering three distinct experimental configurations, a dedicated control software library, and a novel encoding scheme for Ising model parameters. QUBI also contributed to the design and conceptualization of the Ising-as-a-Service portal, supporting remote access and user interaction
Description
HEISINGBERG aims to bring the state-of-the-art spatial photonic spin simulators (incorporating an iterated cycle of all-optical processing through a spatial light modulator that couples 10,000 spins) into the quantum regime by upgrading its coherent drive to squeezed light, making it fully programmable through vector-matrix multiplication schemes, use of holography, ancillary spins & effective magnetic fields, and designing dedicated custom-tailored and purpose-built algorithms. The reduced fluctuations in one quadrature of the fields will allow us to scale up and optimize the performances beyond the capabilities of both classical supercomputers and competing spin-simulators. HEISINGBERG devices will operate 100,000 spins at room temperature and process new quantum annealing algorithms on an improved XY architecture. Besides, the nonclassical resources of squeezed states when modulated, admixed and phase-controlled through beam splitters, such as entanglement or superpositions of multiphoton states will be prospected to harness a quantum advantage and boost existing spin simulators into their quantum simulation regime. This development will stimulate the quantum information processing community by concretely articulating problems of algorithmic complexity and clarify the nature of the quantum advantage available in annealers and simulators. These advances will allow us to demonstrate, on a cloud platform, annealing and adiabatic algorithms that can efficiently solve NP-hard problems.Key Contributions
QUBITECH serves as a core experimental partner, leading efforts to expand SPIM functionality toward XY spin models. It contributes to technical coordination, experimental development, the design and implementation of the control software library, and the conceptualization of the user portal. Additionally, QUBI actively supports dissemination and exploitation activities
Description
ENTRUST envisions a Trust Management Architecture intended to dynamically and holistically manage the lifecycle of connected medical devices, strengthening trust and privacy in the entire medical ecosystem. ENTRUST will leverage a series of breakthrough solutions to enhance assurance without limiting the applicability of connected medical devices by enclosing to them cybersecurity features. The project will introduce a novel remote attestation mechanism to ensure the device’s correct operation at runtime regardless of its computational power; will be efficient enough to run in also resource-constrained real-time systems such as the medical devices. This will be accompanied by dynamic trust assessment models capable of identifying the Required Level of Trustworthiness (RTL) per device and function (service) that will then be verified through a new breed of efficient, attestation mechanisms (to be deployed and executed during runtime). This will also enable us to be aligned with the existing standards on defining appropriate Protection profiles per device (especially considering the heterogeneous types of medical devices provided by different vendors with different requirements) including Targets of Validation Properties to be attested during runtime. The motivation behind ENTRUST is to ensure end-to-end trust management of medical devices including formally verified trust models, risk assessment process, secure lifecycle procedures, security policies, technical recommendations, and the first-ever real time Conformity Certificates to safeguard connected medical devices.Key Contributions
QUBITECH is involved in the design and implementation of a novel physical unclonable function middleware to explore PUF’s functionality as a novel root of trust, which will be used as the baseline for guaranteeing the HW and SW security design properties of Medical Devices and provide the necessary cryptographic enablers.
Description
HellasQCI project aims to deploy advanced National QCI systems and networks. Its architecture comprises of three metropolitan test sites located at major cities of Greece namely: ΗellasQCI-Central (Athens), HellasQCI-North (Thessaloniki) and HellasQCI-South (Heraklion-Crete). Each test-site is divided into Governmental and Industrial testbeds, which allow the project to investigate the fielddeployment of QKD technologies in a plethora of realistic scenarios and use cases addressing National Security, Public Health, Critical Infrastructure and ICT sector. An additional Educational testbed will allow the development of new quantum technologies, provide a sandpit for SME innovation, and offer Greece a futureproof extension towards Quantum Internet. It will also serve as a comprehensive training environment for technical, research staff and end users. For inter-test-site links and international connection with other EuroQCI members, HellasQCI will exploit three Greek observatories, which constitute a national asset and have been selected by ESA to be upgraded as Optical Ground Stations with QKD capabilities.Key Contributions
QUBITECH enhances the security of HellasQCI’s quantum communication framework by designing and implementing a novel PUF/QKD authentication scheme based on its proprietary PUF technology, while also developing a quantum-safe messaging application for secure voice, image, and video communication. Additionally, QUBITECH leads the project's dissemination and outreach strategy, helping to bridge research innovation with real-world impact and support for the European quantum communication ecosystem.
Description
CASTOR develops and evaluates technologies to enable trustworthy computing continuum -wide communications. It departs from the processing of user-expressed high-level requirements for a continuum service, which are turned-to combinations of security needs and network resource requirements, referred to as CASTOR policies. The policies are subsequently enforced on the continuum HW and SW infrastructure to realise an optimised, trusted communication path delivering innovation-breakthroughs to the so-far unsatisfied need: a) for distributed (composable) attestation of the continuum nodes and subsequent elevation of individual outcomes to an adaptive (to changes) continuum trust quantification; b) for the derivation of the optimal path as a joint computation of the continuum trust properties and resources; c) for continuum infrastructure vendor-agnostic trusted path establishment, seamlessly crossing different administrative domains.Key Contributions
QUBITECH plays a central role in the CASTOR project by contributing its photonic-holographic annealer and expertise in QUBO-based optimization to enable hardware-supported Trusted Path Optimization. In addition, it supports the integration of core technical components—such as trusted computing enablers, trust assessment agents, and enforcement mechanisms—and contributes to CASTOR’s open-source roadmap, focusing on the validation and dissemination of open-source technologies for broad adoption.
Description
PiQASO provides a robust, quantum-resistant alternative to traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), offering post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) algorithms and protocols as-a-service. Its fully optimized, hardware-agnostic solution delivers encryption, authentication, and identity management that can be seamlessly integrated into existing infrastructures—without requiring additional specialist hardware on the client side. At its core, PiQASO enables crypto agility, allowing systems to dynamically switch between different post-quantum algorithms based on security policies and resource needs. It supports the latest NIST PQC standards, ensuring compliance and future-proof security. PiQASO’s programmable optimizations and accelerators enhance the performance of a broad spectrum of cryptographic families, while maintaining cost-efficiency. The PiQASO framework is validated through demonstrations across 14 diverse industry sectors, including finance, healthcare, energy, and aerospace. This ensures its practical applicability and effectiveness in securing sensitive data and communications against emerging quantum threats.Key Contributions
In PiQASO, QUBITECH contributes heavily on the development and implementation of the envisioned PQC modalities (PQC SKD, QR-TCB, PQC as-a-service). Also, QUBITECH, has in its portfolio a lightweight, hardware-based SRAM-PUF solution to support the envisioned trusted computing base in the context of use cases, when edge/IoT devices with extremely limited capabilities (i.e. “bare-metal” sensors) are employed.Description
SEQURED delivers advanced post-quantum cybersecurity solutions for defence and critical infrastructures. As quantum computing threatens current cryptographic systems, SEQURED develops quantum-resistant methods to protect sensitive data and communications, addressing risks like Harvest Now, Decrypt Later (HNDL) attacks. By combining hardware-software co-design, SEQURED provides optimized implementations of NIST-selected PQC algorithms (CRYSTALS-Kyber, Dilithium, FALCON, SPHINCS+), tailored for resource-constrained and legacy systems. Its Post-Quantum-as-a-Service (PQaaS) framework enables secure offloading of complex cryptographic operations to the cloud. Key innovations include: a) a Quantum-Resistant Blockchain Ledger (QR-Ledger) for secure and auditable data storage; b) Zero-trust security with continuous device attestation and trusted communication paths; and c) Crypto asset inventorying to identify and upgrade vulnerable components. Validated through defence use cases – such as quantum-secure UAV communications and field data collection – SEQURED delivers practical and robust quantum-resistant cybersecurity, strengthening defence organisations against emerging quantum threats.Key Contributions
QUBITECH plays a core technical role in the SEQURED project, particularly focusing on Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) system design, quantum-resistant ledger technologies, and secure path establishment mechanismsDescription
QuInPhoS advances Spatial Photonic Ising Machines (SPIMs) to tackle complex NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems that are intractable for classical computers. By mapping these problems onto spin models, solutions correspond to finding the global minimum of an Ising Hamiltonian. Unlike traditional photonic Ising machines, QuInPhoS leverages holographic encoding for high scalability and programmable connectivity, representing spins as binary phase states on holographic pixels. The project enhances current SPIM prototypes—previously limited to low-rank problems—by extending their capabilities and transitioning to the quantum regime. This breakthrough enables QuInPhoS to solve a broader range of optimization challenges, paving the way for next-generation quantum-inspired Ising annealers.Key Contributions
QUBITECH contributes to the development of scalable SPIM hardware platforms; implementation of flexible encoding schemes for arbitrary Ising Hamiltonians; integration of real-world NP-hard problem instances; design and development of full-stack control software and optimization algorithms; contribution to the design of a cloud-accessible user portal.Photonic Computing Laboratory Testbed
QUBITECH’s Photonic Computing Laboratory houses a flexible, high-performance experimental testbed tailored for the development and evaluation of advanced optical computing and quantum-inspired technologies. Designed with modularity and precision in mind, the testbed supports a broad range of applications, from real-time optical signal processing to physical simulation and algorithm validation.
Core Capabilities & Equipment:
- High-Speed Spatial Modulation: Equipped with two Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs) operating at refresh rates up to 1 kHz and one high-frequency Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) at 6 kHz, enabling dynamic phase and amplitude control for optical field manipulation.
- Laser Systems: Stable laser sources for precise illumination, interferometry, and structured light generation.
- Photodetection & Monitoring: Integrated photodiodes, power meters, and a digital oscilloscope for high-resolution, real-time measurement of optical signals and intensity dynamics.
- Optical Infrastructure: A full suite of components including lenses, mirrors, acousto-optic modulators (AOMs), and polarizers, allowing configurable optical pathways and custom experimental arrangements.
- Multi-Camera Imaging: Four high-resolution cameras enable parallel monitoring, diagnostics, and closed-loop feedback across different system planes and experimental zones.
- Automation & Control Systems: Microcontroller-based units orchestrate automated alignment, synchronization, and real-time control of key system parameters, facilitating high-throughput experimentation and consistent reproducibility.
This testbed forms the backbone of QUBITECH’s experimental research in photonics and optical systems, offering a scalable platform for prototyping novel architectures, validating algorithms, and advancing applications across photonic computing, sensing, and quantum-inspired technologies.
Spatial Photonic Ising Machine (SPIM)
QUBITECH’s Spatial Photonic Ising Machine operates by encoding spin variables and their pairwise interactions into the phase profile of a laser beam using a Spatial Light Modulator. The resulting optical field is analyzed through intensity patterns to evaluate the energy landscape of the Ising Hamiltonian. By leveraging iterative feedback and optimization algorithms, such as Metropolis sampling and physics-inspired heuristics, the system progressively explores low-energy configurations that correspond to near-optimal or optimal solutions of complex combinatorial problems. Designed as a quantum-inspired optimization platform, the SPIM provides a scalable, energy-efficient alternative to conventional solvers for tackling NP-hard challenges in fields like logistics, network design, and machine learning.
Spin Pair Encoding Scheme (SPE)
Spin Pair Encoding (SPE) is an advanced encoding technique developed by QUBITECH that enables the direct implementation of arbitrary interactions within the Ising Hamiltonian. Rather than encoding individual spin states, SPE directly encodes the pairwise spin products, allowing for the precise representation of the coupling terms between spins. This direct mapping increases the flexibility and scalability of photonic Ising platforms, making them better suited for simulating complex interaction networks found in real-world combinatorial optimization problems. By supporting the implementation of arbitrary Ising models without structural approximations, SPE plays a critical role in extending the applicability of quantum-inspired photonic computing to domains such as logistics, machine learning, network design, and beyond. More details can be found at https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.09161
Spectral Division Multiplexing (SDM)
Spectral Division Multiplexing (SDM) is an advanced encoding scheme developed by QUBITECH to enhance the capability of SPIM systems in representing high-dimensional spin models. Originally designed to address the limitations of eigenvalue decomposition approaches in Ising model implementations, SDM introduces a spatial multiplexing technique that allows multiple eigenvectors, derived from the decomposition of the interaction matrix, to be encoded as phase profiles and processed in parallel within a single optical run. These eigenvectors are holographically superimposed and simultaneously propagated through the optical system, enabling the concurrent encoding of all terms in the spin Hamiltonian. This restores the constant-time evaluation advantage of photonic systems and significantly improves their scalability and efficiency. Importantly, SDM extends the photonic platform’s applicability beyond the classical Ising framework, enabling the optical encoding of more general spin models, including XY and higher-order O(3) and O(4) models. This broader capability opens new avenues for exploring complex physical systems and optimization landscapes within a unified photonic computing architecture.
Ising Machine Control Software Library
QUBITECH’s control software library, developed through the HoloCIM and HEISINGBERG projects, is essential to the operation of the Spatial Photonic Ising Machine. It coordinates communication between all optoelectronic components and provides the framework for mapping real-world problems into their corresponding Ising Hamiltonians. These problem instances are then processed through integrated optimization algorithms within the platform. Designed to be modular and hardware-agnostic, the software features a user-friendly interface that simplifies system control and experiment configuration. It transforms complex photonic workflows into accessible, reproducible processes, supporting both rapid prototyping and advanced research in quantum-inspired optimization.
Ising machine as-a-Service
As a major outcome of QUBITECH’s efforts in photonic Ising machine research, the Ising-as-a-Service platform provides a new way to interact with analog optimization hardware—remotely, securely, and at scale. This cloud-based platform enables external users to access photonic Ising machines without requiring specialized laboratory equipment. Through an intuitive web interface or programmatic access, users can configure, submit, and monitor complex optimization problems, benefiting from the unique capabilities of photonic architectures. The platform supports both physical and simulated hardware backends, offers real-time performance insights, and maintains a structured knowledge base for benchmarking and long-term learning. Designed for extensibility, it serves as a foundation for collaborative experimentation and future integration with broader computational workflows, bringing the potential of Ising machines closer to real-world applications across research and industry.
Quantum Gate-Based Quantum Computer Emulator
QUBITECH is actively developing a gate-based quantum computing emulator designed to run on classical hardware platforms. This ongoing effort aims to provide a practical and scalable environment for the design, testing, and validation of quantum algorithms, enabling experimentation well ahead of widespread access to physical quantum processors. To meet the demanding computational requirements of quantum circuit simulation, the emulator is being optimized to leverage modern hardware accelerators, including GPUs and multicore CPUs. This allows for significantly improved performance in simulating complex gate operations and algorithmic routines. The library is being designed with flexibility in mind, supporting a broad set of quantum operations and integration pathways for hybrid quantum-classical workflows. Once mature, it will serve as a foundational tool for researchers and developers looking to explore quantum software development, algorithm prototyping, and performance benchmarking, all within a classical infrastructure. This work represents a key step toward making quantum computing research more accessible, efficient, and hardware-agnostic.
PUF-based QKD Nodes Authenticator
A prototype developed in the context of HellasQCI project for QKD nodes authentication utilizing SRAM PUF technology, delivering a tamper-resistant and hardware-rooted solution tailored for both existing and future-proof QKD infrastructures. This SRAM-based PUF authenticator is designed to integrate seamlessly with the project’s operational QKD infrastructure, offering a secure and scalable authentication mechanism for ensuring the integrity of quantum communication networks, strengthening the overall trust model of current QKD deployments.
Lightweight PUF-based TCB
A prototype developed in the context of ENTRUST project for enabling the secure lifecycle management of connected medical devices. Composed of a set of trust anchors (Trusted Execution Environment and Physical Unclonable Functions), the provided customized Trusted Computing Base offers a dynamically adjustable, unified technical solution not only tailored to the specific needs and capabilities of existing and future CMDs but also to IoT devices. Agnostic to the underline host-device’s hardware characteristics, the proposed solution facilitates secure data access and verifiable computing in IoT environments, ensuring data integrity and trustworthiness through continuous monitoring and attestation of resource-constrained devices.
PQC Experimentation Suite
A software suite in C features implementations of NIST-approved post-quantum cryptographic algorithms with built-in parameter selection capabilities, enabling researchers to experiment with various security levels, performance trade-offs, and resource constraints in a controlled environment.
Group Leader
Dr Symeon Tsintzos (Head of Group, QUBITECH CTO)
Expertise: Photonic & Quantum Technologies, Photonic Computing, Electronic and Photonic PUF devices, Light-matter interaction, optoelectronic semiconductor devices design, simulation and fabrication, project management.
Short Bio
Dr Symeon Tsintzos is the co-founder and Technical Director of the Photonic and Quantum Technologies Department at QUBI. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Technology from the University of Crete, specializing in the design and fabrication of polaritonic light-emitting diodes (LEDs). His research spans polariton physics, semiconductor technologies, and quantum photonics, including polaritonic lasers, photonic machine learning systems, analog photonic simulators, and cryptographic electronic and optical devices (PUFs). He has held postdoctoral positions at FORTH – Hellas and the Center for Quantum Complexity and Nanotechnology of Crete, with visiting research stays at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge and the Ioffe Institute in St. Petersburg. With over 40 publications and more than 1,900 citations, he has contributed to numerous European and national research projects, serving as technical director in three of them. At QUBI, he oversees the technical developments across all divisions, driving the company’s innovation in quantum and photonic technologies.
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Key Team Members
Dr Stylianos Kazazis (Senior Architect, Hardware & Product Development)
Expertise: Design and Development of Electronic and Photonic PUF Instances, Hardware-based Roots-of-Trust, Physical layer Security, Traditional and Post-Quantum Cryptography
Short Bio
Dr Stylianos Kazazis is a Senior Hardware &Product Development Engineer at QUBITECH, specializing in photonic and electronic Physical Unclonable Functions (e/p-PUFs), cryptography—both traditional and post-quantum—and physical layer security. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Crete, where his research focused on the optoelectronic characterization and modelling of III-nitride heterostructures for photovoltaic applications. He also holds an MSc in Microelectronics from the University of Athens and a BSc in Materials Science from the University of Patras Before joining QUBI, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at NCSR 'Demokritos', as well as at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH). In 2022, he joined UBITECH as Research Project Delivery & Fundraising Manager, coordinating H2020 and Horizon Europe projects, focused mainly on Cyber Security, Cloud Computing and Quantum Technology. At QUBITECH, he leads the design and development of application-specific PUF solutions and coordinates Horizon Europe projects, with a primary focus on cybersecurity and quantum technologies.
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Dr Georgios Pastras (Lead Scientist, Quantum Mechanics)
Expertise: quantum algorithms, theoretical and applied post-quantum cryptography, design and development of complex algorithms for real-world applications, and physics-inspired optimization methods
Short Bio
Dr Georgios Pastras is a Senior Researcher at QUBITECH, specializing in quantum computing, quantum and physics-inspired algorithms, quantum-inspired Ising machines, and post-quantum cryptography. He holds a PhD in Physics from Harvard University and has held postdoctoral research positions at EPFL, the University of Patras, NTUA, and the National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos," where he also coordinated the "HAPPEN" project. His scientific work spans theoretical physics, including quantum field theory, black hole thermodynamics, and quantum entanglement, as well as applied research in Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) systems for simulating Ising models and solving complex computational problems. At QUBITECH, he focuses on advancing quantum technologies that address optimization challenges and develop secure, quantum-resilient solutions for the post-quantum era.
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Dr Jason Sakellariou (Lead Scientist, Quantum-Inspired Algorithms and Control Systems)
Expertise: statistical physics, optimization, machine learning, software engineering, and photonic computing.
Short Bio
Dr Jason Sakellariou is the Lead Scientist for Quantum-Inspired Algorithms and Control Systems at QUBITECH. He holds a degree in Physics from the University of Crete, an MSc in Theoretical Physics of Complex Systems, and a Ph.D. in Statistical Physics from LPTMS, Université Paris Sud-11, under the supervision of Prof. Marc Mézard. His early research focused on developing novel algorithms for inverse inference in asymmetric Ising models and computational methods in statistical physics. He has held postdoctoral positions at Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris 6), SONY Computer Science Lab, and the Athena Research Center. His work has spanned machine learning for automatic music composition, federated privacy-preserving analytics for the Human Brain Project, and the development of distributed computational infrastructures. At QUBITECH, he leverages this interdisciplinary expertise to lead the development of control systems and algorithms for next-generation photonic computing devices, enabling scalable and efficient solutions for complex optimization problems.
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Publications of high scientific value:
Wang, Richard Zhipeng, et al. "Efficient computation using spatial-photonic Ising machines with low-rank and circulant matrix constraints.". Communications Physics, 8(1), 86.
Schetakis, Nikolaos, et al. "Data re-uploading in Quantum Machine Learning for time series: application to traffic forecasting.". arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.12776.
Sakellariou, Jason, et al. "Encoding arbitrary Ising Hamiltonians on Spatial Photonic Ising Machines.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.09161.
Veraldi, Daniele, et al. "Fully Programmable Spatial Photonic Ising Machine by Focal Plane Division." Physical Review Letters 134.6 (2025): 063802.
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The PUF-based QKD nodes authenticator demonstrated at QCI Days Athens 2025
Collaboration & Partnerships
Academia & Research:
- Department of Physics, University Sapienza (Italy)
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge (UK)
- Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, FORTH (Greece)
- Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid - ICMM (Spain)
- Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus (Cyprus)
For collaboration opportunities and other inquiries, contact us at [email protected]
