Award Announcement: A Milestone for NUS Quantum Research

In a significant recognition of Singapore's growing prowess in quantum technologies, National University of Singapore (NUS) Professor Lo Hoi Kwong has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Leonard Mandel Quantum Optics Award by Optica, the leading society for optics and photonics. This honour, established in 2023 to commemorate pioneering physicist Leonard Mandel, celebrates distinguished contributions to statistical and quantum optics, as well as advanced technological applications. Prof Lo's selection underscores his groundbreaking work in quantum information science, positioning NUS and Singapore as key players in the global quantum race.

The Leonard Mandel Quantum Optics Award highlights innovations that bridge fundamental quantum principles with practical systems like secure communication networks. Past recipients include luminaries such as James D. Franson (2025) and H. Jeff Kimble (2024), making Prof Lo's win a testament to his impact. For NUS, home to the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), this accolade reinforces its role in fostering world-class talent amid Singapore's ambitious National Quantum Strategy.

As Singapore invests heavily in quantum engineering, Prof Lo's achievement signals bright prospects for students and researchers eyeing careers in this field. Explore research jobs at leading Singapore universities to join the quantum revolution.

Prof Lo Hoi Kwong: From Caltech to NUS Provost's Chair

Prof Lo Hoi Kwong's career trajectory exemplifies the global hunt for quantum talent now converging on Singapore. Holding a PhD from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and a BA in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, he has held positions at prestigious institutions including the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, Hewlett-Packard Labs, and MagiQ Technologies. Previously a Full Professor at the University of Toronto and Research Division Director at the University of Hong Kong, Prof Lo joined NUS in 2025 as Provost's Chair Professor in the Department of Physics (2025-2028) and Principal Investigator at CQT.

His move aligns with Singapore's strategic push to attract top minds. As he noted in a NUS Physics interview, "Singapore is investing heavily in quantum technologies," drawn by initiatives like the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE2030) plan, which allocates S$37 billion to quantum higher education and research. This influx bolsters NUS's quantum physics program, offering undergraduates a Specialisation in Quantum Technologies that covers sensing, communication, computation, and cryptography.

Prof Lo's leadership extends to co-founding Quantum Bridge Technologies, bridging academia and industry—a model for aspiring quantum entrepreneurs in Singapore.

Pioneering Quantum Key Distribution: Decoy-State and Beyond

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) enables ultra-secure communication by leveraging quantum mechanics' no-cloning theorem: any eavesdropping disturbs the quantum state, alerting users. Traditional QKD was vulnerable to detector attacks, but Prof Lo's innovations changed that.

His research group first experimentally demonstrated the decoy-state protocol, enhancing security against photon-number-splitting attacks by using decoy pulses of varying intensities alongside signal pulses. This practical breakthrough made QKD deployable over real networks.

• Proves information-theoretic security of QKD.
• Co-invented quantum secret sharing.
• Proved impossibility of quantum bit commitment.
• Developed GLLP security model.

These foundational results, published in top journals like Nature Communications, have over 10,000 citations, per Google Scholar.

MDI-QKD: Revolutionizing Secure Quantum Networks

Measurement-Device-Independent QKD (MDI-QKD), co-invented by Prof Lo, removes trust in detectors—the most hackable component. Here's how it works step-by-step:

1. Alice and Bob send coherent states to untrusted Charlie (middle node).
2. Charlie performs Bell State Measurement (BSM) on photons, announcing results publicly.
3. Success announces correlated keys; failures discarded.
4. Post-processing extracts secure key, immune to detector side-channels.

This enables intercity QKD up to 800 km without repeaters and paves the way for quantum repeaters. Prof Lo's group hacked commercial systems, spurring industry hardening.

In Singapore, MDI-QKD supports national secure networks, vital for finance and defense hubs like Singapore universities.

From Hacking QKD to All-Photonic Repeaters

Prof Lo's team exposed vulnerabilities in commercial QKD, like time-shift attacks, pushing standards forward. Their all-photonic quantum repeater proposal uses quantum memories and entanglement swapping for loss-tolerant networks—a step toward the quantum internet.

Stats highlight impact: Over 260 papers by Optica peers, but Lo's work cites in IEEE and APS fellowships.

For students, NUS offers PhD opportunities in these areas; check postdoc positions.

CQT and NUS: Epicenter of Singapore's Quantum Higher Ed

CQT, hosted at NUS, drives Singapore's quantum agenda with 200+ researchers tackling computing, sensing, and communication. Prof Lo's arrival strengthens theory-experiment synergy.

NUS Physics features Quantum Computation Group, training undergrads via QCamp and specializations. Faculty like Lo mentor PhDs, with jobs booming: 50+ quantum roles in Singapore annually.

Singapore's National Quantum Strategy: S$300M Investment

Launched 2024, the National Quantum Strategy (NQS) injects S$300 million over five years into CQT, Quantum Engineering Programme 3.0 (QEP 3.0), and others. RIE2030 adds S$37B, creating 1,000+ quantum jobs by 2030.

• NQCH: Quantum software hub.
• Partnerships: IBM, Quantinuum.
• Talent: 500 PhDs trained.

This ecosystem draws talents like Lo, boosting NUS rankings in quantum subjects.

Quantum Education at NUS: Programs and Opportunities

NUS's Specialisation in Quantum Technologies equips students with skills for cryptography and computing. CQT offers PhDs, postdocs; alumni secure roles at Google Quantum AI, ID Quantique.

Cultural context: Singapore's merit-based system favors quantum grads, with salaries 20-30% above average in tech. Actionable: Pursue academic CV tips for quantum applications.

Global Implications and Singapore's Quantum Leadership

Lo's work advances quantum internet, vital for post-quantum crypto amid rising cyber threats. Singapore leads Asia, with NUS/CQT exporting tech via startups.

Stakeholders: Gov invests for security; industry for computing; academia for talent. Challenges: Talent shortage—solved by NUS programs. Outlook: Quantum-secure networks by 2030.

Photo by Ulziisaikhan Khoroldamba on Unsplash

Career Insights: Thriving in Singapore's Quantum Higher Ed

For aspiring researchers, NUS offers paths via /university jobs. Prof Lo's journey shows value of interdisciplinary skills. Future: Hybrid quantum jobs surge 50% by 2028.

In conclusion, Prof Lo's award elevates NUS, inspiring quantum careers. Check Rate My Professor, higher ed jobs, career advice.