Anton Zeilinger (born on 20 May 1945 in Ried im Innkreis, Austria) is a professor of physics at the University of Vienna, previously University of Innsbruck. He is also the director of the Vienna branch of the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI).

Zeilinger is known for multiple experiments in the realm of quantum interferometry, which include the first demonstration of quantum teleportation between two separately emitted photons (Innsbruck, 1997). His work influenced the experimental progress in a new sub-field of physics - quantum information theory. With Daniel Greenberger and Michael Horne he has shown an amplification of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, where one considers three, not just two entangled particles (see Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state). Later on (1999) his Innsbruck group demonstrated experimentally that one can indeed observe three particle Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger correlations. In Vienna his molecular interferometry team co-led by Markus Arndt discovered the possibility of observing quantum interference of heavy chemical molecules (1999), first for the C60 molecules (fullerene). Zeilinger received many awards for his scientific work, one of the most recent being the King Faisal Prize (2005). In 2006 he was elected as a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Zeilinger recently oversaw an experiment that demonstrated quantum entanglement in light beamed between two of the Canary Islands, 144 kilometers apart. He dreams of bouncing entangled light off of satellites in orbit[1].

He is a fan of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams, going so far as to name his sailboat 42[2].

References

1,2. ^ Minkel, JR (2007-08-01). "The Gedanker Experimenter". Scientific American. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
2. ^ Minkel, JR (2007-08-01). "The Gedanker Experimenter". Scientific American. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.