Prestigious European Research Grant for Quantum Internet in Naples
Professor Angela Sara Cacciapuoti, an expert in Quantum Communications and Networks at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, has been awarded a €2 million ERC Consolidator Grant, one of the most coveted and competitive European-level grants. This grant, bestowed by the prestigious European Research Council (ERC), will support her innovative QNattyNet project.
The Goal: Building the Foundations of the Quantum Internet
The QNattyNet project aims to create a genuine milestone for the future of communications: the development of a protocol architecture, analogous to the TCP/IP that governs today’s Internet, but designed specifically for the Quantum Internet. The objective is to develop the rules and functionalities that will allow different quantum networks to communicate with each other efficiently and securely.
The Quantum Internet is considered by the scientific community to be the pinnacle of the quantum revolution. Its potential computing and communication capabilities, vastly superior to those of classical networks, promise to radically transform our society in ways yet to be explored, redefining the very concept of communication.
A Success Story Years in the Making
This funding represents the culmination of a highly successful journey for Professor Cacciapuoti and her research team (www.QuantumInternet.it), who are already internationally renowned for their pioneering contributions to the field of Quantum Internet design.
The ERC Consolidator Grant is reserved for researchers with an excellent track record who propose cutting-edge, high-risk projects with potentially revolutionary impact. This year’s selection process was extremely competitive: only 14.2% of the 2,313 submitted proposals received funding.
Professor Cacciapuoti’s project stands out further for being the only one funded in Italy in the area of Systems and Communication Engineering, and the very first to receive an ERC grant for the engineering design of the Quantum Internet protocol stack.
