Prof. Micha\u0142 Parniak: <\/strong>Good question. No. In high school, I wanted to be a chemist. At first, my interests and ambitions changed quite often. It wasn\u2019t until college that things began to take shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How does reality compare to what we imagine a physicist does?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 The ideas we have when we start college are often tied to fundamental physics \u2013\u00a0discovering laws we don\u2019t yet know. I work on something a bit different \u2013\u00a0let\u2019s call it quantum engineering. It\u2019s less about discovering and more about inventing. That suits me better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What helps you in your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Definitely my colleagues. Everything I\u2019ve written about \u2013\u00a0and everything that\u2019s been discussed recently \u2013\u00a0is the result of a team effort, including the people who taught me and the students I work with. I think we\u2019re currently attracting many of the best physics students to our university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working with people is incredibly valuable, and we\u2019ve managed to create a very dynamic research environment. In research, having a great deal of freedom is also crucial. Of course, you still have to be realistic \u2013 consider what can be funded and what cannot \u2013 but in my field, these plans aren\u2019t subject to heavy top-down oversight. We\u2019re not building a $100 billion particle accelerator \u2013 just experiments we can fully control ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also don\u2019t constantly look over our shoulders to see what others are doing. Of course, staying aware of broader trends matters \u2013 what\u2019s important now or what might be important in five years \u2013 but that\u2019s about anticipating developments, not following imposed agendas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fly in the ointment. What gets in the way of research?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Funding, of course. It\u2019s never very stable. Things are fine now, but last year was tougher, and it\u2019s hard to plan more than five years ahead. Right now, I\u2019m lucky \u2013\u00a0I have funding from the Foundation for Polish Science\u2019s International Research Agendas Programme FENG \u2013\u00a0but if we had this conversation a year ago, I\u2019d be in a difficult position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is life like for a researcher in Poland under these conditions?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 A researcher who is active and tries to combine scientific work with practical applications is very busy. But there are plenty of opportunities, and the work itself is fascinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You mentioned keeping up with trends. Your work involves quantum computing and optical communication technologies. The term \u201cquantum\u201d also appears in connection with your collaboration with the European Space Agency. Clearly, you\u2019re doing well on that front \u2013 since the UN proclaimed 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 That\u2019s true. I got into quantum technologies just as they were starting to take off, and now we\u2019re at their peak. Whether this will continue is unclear. Within quantum technologies, we try to develop somewhat niche solutions. We strategically choose projects where our expertise gives us a competitive edge globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of your first major projects was a device capable of capturing and storing light as quantum memory \u2013 is that correct?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was the first step; then there were a few more, and eventually a quantum processor emerged.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Let me tell the story more fully. After my master\u2019s thesis, I worked on relatively simple quantum technologies \u2013\u00a0based on atoms and lasers. When I started my PhD, my team and I decided to build a more advanced atomic system called a magneto-optical trap. It lets us cool atoms with lasers, giving us better control and enabling more advanced applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We built such a system very quickly and, for the first time, demonstrated a quantum memory protocol for light that worked not just for single photons \u2013 as others had done \u2013 but across many channels. At the time, we achieved around 600 channels \u2013 three times more than a Chinese group demonstrated that same year (using a different method).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to this record performance, our memory also had additional capabilities. We showed that stored light could be slightly processed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of it like a conventional computer, we have memory and then load data into the processor, where very complex operations take place. We proposed that even if we can\u2019t yet perform arbitrarily complex operations \u2013 especially quantum ones \u2013 we can still perform certain simple operations without removing photons from memory. So we have a processor for light that can modify that light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is already a device that allows us to extract more information from light than was previously possible; it enables us to encode information more densely for any given amount of light. That was the quantum processor we demonstrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When did the European Space Agency enter the picture?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 After I left for my postdoc. I spent two years in Copenhagen and returned to lead a research group. That\u2019s when we started a new project. We had a grant that allowed us to purchase some equipment \u2013\u00a0specifically, four strategically chosen lasers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it\u2019s not an astronomical amount after all\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Yes, exactly. It\u2019s a small investment. But this investment allowed us to conduct a demonstration using a completely new setup. We are moving from a memory-based processor to a much simpler setup \u2013\u00a0the atoms are excited into specially prepared states using these new lasers. These states are highly sensitive to microwaves. In this way, we simultaneously created a detector and a microwave-to-light converter, which converts microwave energy and enables much more sensitive detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We published the results in a prominent journal, Nature Photonics. After that article, the European Space Agency reached out: \u2018Hey, listen, it just so happens that quantum sensors (our invention is, in fact, a type of quantum sensor) are one of our development priorities. It looks like you are practically one of only two groups in Europe working on sensors of this type. We would like to collaborate.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was more or less the message. The other group is \u2013 now our collaborators \u2013scientists from the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It started with a few conversations, and eventually we received a contract from the European Space Agency to build a prototype demonstrator of such a quantum sensor. It is not intended to go into space just yet, but it is designed to operate outside the laboratory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ESA rates what we are developing at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3, where 9 means a system is ready for deployment in space. That is one aspect of the collaboration, but not the only one. Currently, as part of our scientific cooperation with the European Space Agency, we are preparing a joint publication that will serve as a roadmap for the use of this class of quantum sensors in space applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The roadmap sounds promising. Let\u2019s translate the language of physics into terms that are more accessible to the average person. We tend to think of physics as something distant, but it is everywhere \u2013 in the microwave oven, in the computer. The research you are conducting has the potential for very practical applications. It can be used to develop safer technologies and more secure data transmission systems that are resistant to eavesdropping and interception.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anything else?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 This aspect of quantum cryptography offers a way to protect against eavesdropping. At present, it is possible to transmit such data over a few kilometers without using our methods. However, over distances of 100 km and beyond, this is not yet feasible. For such ranges, quantum memories are required. Our quantum memory represents a step in that direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, when we talk about quantum sensors and our research for the European Space Agency, the focus is somewhat different. This work concerns electromagnetic radiation \u2013 from radio waves and microwaves to so-called millimeter waves and terahertz waves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terahertz radiation can be used to scan through certain materials or, for example, to measure their temperature and reflectivity. These waves are relatively rare; there are perhaps only a few contexts in which we commonly encounter them. However, 5G networks are beginning to approach this frequency range, and they will be essential for the next generation (6G).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another example is airport security scanners (though not metal detectors), which allow imaging of clothing and objects in a way that is significantly safer than X-ray-based scanning. At airports, X-rays are used only to scan luggage \u2013 not people \u2013 as direct exposure would be too dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are developing terahertz radiation detectors. Thanks to new technologies, they are significantly more sensitive, which allows them to be used in various types of material-analysis devices. They can also be integrated into radars, telecommunications receivers, and satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the case of satellites, the goal is often to point them toward Earth for observation. This would allow us, for example, to determine who is transmitting signals and what is being transmitted. It would also enable us to measure the reflectivity and temperature of clouds, as well as the temperature of the ground. Such high-precision measurements are crucial for climate research and weather forecasting, as current data is still not sufficiently accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you expect the European Space Agency to become involved?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 It was a surprise. On the other hand, though, we did bring it on ourselves a bit. In our paper, I wrote that such a device could be interesting for satellite applications. Unlike various far-fetched ideas, the atomic cells we use \u2013\u00a0small vacuum glass cells containing atoms \u2013\u00a0are based on a technology quite similar to that used in the clocks on all GPS satellites. Every GPS satellite must carry a very precise atomic clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why it is not so difficult to imagine another type of atomic cell being used in space; it is simply a technology that has already been demonstrated. I mentioned this in the paper, so perhaps that is how I sparked some interest in space applications <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You set the events in motion, and\u2026 luck favors the bold.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 It\u2019s partly true that things just happen, but of course we try to encourage such applications. That is also part of a scientist\u2019s job \u2013\u00a0to find practical uses for what we discover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What don\u2019t we know yet? There was a lot of buzz about the prototype for the European Space Agency. There have also been quite a few articles about your first major projects. So what\u2019s in the works right now? What else is happening?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 We\u2019re not just asking ourselves how to make such a microwave sensor a little better, but how to build one that would be truly unbeatable \u2014 one that reaches the fundamental quantum limit of sensitivity. Perhaps we\u2019ll have an answer to that question soon. This is more of a nod to fundamental physics than to applications, although who knows\u2026 Such a sensor is much more complex in itself, but also far, far more sensitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quantum technology is a very hot topic, and at the same time, a much-needed one\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Yes. Although at the same time, especially when it comes to quantum computing \u2013 that is, computations and quantum computers \u2013 it\u2019s a field that is very prone to drifting away from physical reality. There are press releases about quantum processors promising a million qubits (quantum bits \u2013 ed.), even though there isn\u2019t a single one that actually works properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So clickbait is sneaking in everywhere.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 Yes. It\u2019s everywhere, especially in quantum computing. At some point, you don\u2019t know who to trust, but I think you can always trust experts working at universities. This ties into the university\u2019s mission \u2013 to ensure that the realm of scientific truth is not taken over by pure commercial interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To temper business appetites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 The point is not to get lost in a thicket of empty words, but to focus on what we really have and what actually works. We try to write press releases about our achievements in a way that is both enthusiastic and precise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are a recipient of the Frank Wilczek Prize. Is he an important figure to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 I was very pleased to receive this award. It was established by the Jagiellonian University and the Kosciuszko Foundation. It is connected to the ties between Professor Frank Wilczek, a Nobel laureate, and the Jagiellonian University. Some of the phenomena that Professor Wilczek studied \u2013 although in fundamental physics \u2013 related to how matter organizes itself into phases, also appear in the atomic systems I study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uklad-sensora-kwantowego-1024x576-1.webp\")