Hans Jürgen Briegel

Hans Jürgen Briegel, known as Hans J. Briegel (born 9 August 1962 in Ochsenhausen) is a German theoretical physicist. He is Full Professor at the University of Innsbruck and conducts research in the field of quantum physics and quantum information.

Biography Briegel studied physics and philosophy at LMU Munich (1983-1990, terms 1986–1987 at the University of Edinburgh). He worked as Research Associate at the Texas A&M University and as Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University and the University of Innsbruck. Among other institutions, he has lectured and researched as visiting professor at the University of Bristol, UK, and the Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. In 2023, he was awarded the Wittgenstein Award.

Hans J. Briegel is married and has two children.

Research Briegel has developed fundamental concepts in the field of quantum information, quantum computing and quantum communication. In 2001, together with Robert Raussendorf, he introduced the concept of a one-way quantum computer or measurement-based quantum computer model, which presented a new paradigm for building a quantum computer. According to Thomson Reuter's analysis, the publication of this work is the second most-often cited publication in the field of quantum computing research in the first decade of the 21st century. Together with his work in cluster and graph states, it led to a completely new understanding of entanglement as a resource for quantum information processing. The concept of the quantum repeater, presented by Hans Briegel and his colleagues in 1998, plays an important role in quantum communication.

In recent years Briegel has explored topics bordering on other scientific fields: He has investigated whether entanglement states also exist in biological systems, for example in the magnetic compass of migratory birds. Briegel has also published work relating to the topic of agency and free will; he opposes the notion that the laws of nature don't permit free will. He developed a theoretical model that he calls “projective simulation”, which allows for a rudimentary form of creative behavior for artificial agents.