The David Potter Institute for Quantum Information and Spacetime

The Foundation has awarded a grant of £8 million to University College London to establish a permanent academic institute, the David Potter Institute for Quantum Information and Spacetime.

Based within UCL’s Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the new interdisciplinary Potter Institute will bring together leading scientists in quantum information theory, gravity and high energy physics to advance fundamental research into the nature of the universe.

Tackling the deepest questions

At the heart of the partnership will be a question that has challenged physicists for more than a century: how to reconcile quantum mechanics, which governs the smallest building blocks of nature, with gravity, which describes how spacetime bends to shape the universe.

Despite significant progress in both areas, scientists do not yet know whether spacetime itself is quantum. The Potter Institute will focus on answering this question by bringing together innovative theoretical ideas with novel experimental approaches, many of which have been developed and trialled at UCL.

To probe the quantum nature of spacetime, researchers will develop quantum sensors capable of measuring incredibly small forces with unprecedented precision.

From discovery to future technologies

Created to push the boundaries of fundamental physics, the research led by the Potter Institute could lead to exciting advances in quantum technologies. Quantum sensing is expected to disrupt industries that rely on sensor technology, including healthcare and engineering, and the Potter Institute will be an incubator for innovative spin-out technologies for the benefit of society.

Potter Institute researchers will work in tandem with the Quantum Biomedical Sensing Research Hub (Q-BIOMED), led by UCL and the University of Cambridge, to develop quantum sensing technology that can be deployed in high-impact healthcare settings. This could enable significantly more sensitive detection of cells, molecules and processes in the body, and thereby improve early disease diagnosis and treatment.

The Potter Institute will also serve as a focal point for collaboration, hosting visiting researchers, workshops and students, and helping to train the next generation of scientists working at the frontier of theoretical and experimental physics.

The Potter Institute will be co-directed by Jonathan Oppenheim, Professor of Quantum Theory, and Sougato Bose, Professor of Physics. They are both internationally recognised leaders whose work has helped to define the field of quantum information and gravity. The head of the experimental programme will be Professor Peter Barker, who heads a world leading experimental team in quantum levitated optomechanics. The Potter Institute will feature researchers from across Mathematics, Computer Science, and the departments of Philosophy and Science and Technology Studies.

Professor Oppenheim is known for his ground breaking contributions to quantum information theory and gravity, while Professor Bose is an expert in experimental proposals to test whether gravity itself can produce uniquely quantum effects.

Quantum Information and Spacetime at UCL

Advancing knowledge and supporting research

We have consistently supported projects that promote reason and education, to improve understanding, governance and a stronger civil society. The Potter Institute extends that mission into fundamental physics research: the kind of long-term, curiosity-driven enquiry that shaped David Potter's career, and that he believed was essential to progress.

This grant reflects our long-standing commitment to advancing knowledge and supporting ambitious, long-term research. The Potter Institute is a vehicle through which we can help provide the academic freedom to pursue big ideas, the impact of which may shape the future in ways we cannot yet predict. David was excited about the prospect of creating a world-class academic institution to explore the frontiers of knowledge. We are delighted that the Potter Institute will combine experimental and theoretical physics to answer the big questions about life, with real-world impact. It will be a fitting legacy to David.