We are terribly saddened to learn that our dear friend, Professor Jonathan P. Dowling passed away. Jon has been a renowned pioneer in quantum optics, quantum metrology, optical quantum computing, and quantum communications. With his foresight, Jon was the first one who invented the term and predicted the “quantum technology: the second quantum revolution” in as early as 2003 in his article published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, which has been widely used now. He strongly supported an open academic atmosphere for international scientific exchange, especially between United States and China. He has been a very welcomed visit to our group and a fruitful collaborator. In his most recent book “Schrödinger’s Web: Race to build the quantum internet”, he called the launch of the Micius satellite as “a quantum Sputnik moment”. His creativity, inspiration and eternal passion for physics affected everyone around him. He was generous of spirit and provided valuable guidance and mentorship to numerous junior faculties and students in China over the years. His passing will not only leave a void in our lives, but in the hearts of all those who knew him.
We’re deeply grateful for your efforts and will always miss you, Jon!
Rest in peace.
Members of the CAS Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China