October 13 2025 -- QuanTour, an initiative featuring a travelling quantum light source hosted by Cambridge and 11 other institutions across Europe, has been awarded the 2025 Institute of Physics Lise Meitner Medal and Prize for innovative public engagement across the UK and Europe, offering live insights into the work of physicists.

The QuanTour project, led by Prof Doris Reiter (TU Dortmund, Germany) and Prof Tobias Heindel (TU Berlin, Germany), had a profound impact on public engagement with quantum science in the UK and Ireland, collaborating with key institutions in Cambridge, Cork and Edinburgh, delivering engaging content to spark curiosity and deepen understanding of quantum technologies, while offering important scientific insights for quantum physicists.

At the heart of the outreach project is a chip containing a quantum dot light source, a cutting-edge device capable of emitting single photons—fundamental particles of light—on demand and in very fast succession. Travelling across 12 laboratories in 12 European countries over 12 months, throughout the International Year of Quantum 2025, this extraordinary effort highlighted the collaborative nature of physics research and the challenges of implementing advanced quantum technologies in diverse environments.

“UK’s participation in QuanTour was really important to us,” said Reiter, who worked closely with Prof Mete Atatüre, Head of the Cavendish Laboratory and a quantum physicist himself, to bring the light source to Cambridge. “We share long-standing collaborations and friendships that continue to drive quantum technologies forward. It makes it even more meaningful to work together on public communication of science as well.”

The source arrived in Cambridge in October 2024, halfway through its journey, where it was hosted by the Cavendish Laboratory in Atatüre’s Quantum Optical Materials and Systems group. The project was closely supervised by Dr Christian Schimpf and Dr Yusuf Karli, whose dedication played a crucial role in QuanTour’s overall success and the Cavendish’s specific contribution.

“The QuanTour project demonstrated in an impressive way that we are at a stage in which working quantum devices can travel all over the world and be used by different people in an almost plug-and-play mode,” said Schimpf, who worked on the quantum light source and carried out some of the key measurements.

“Single-photon sources are critical for secure quantum communication and scalable quantum computing, making this technology a cornerstone of the rapidly advancing quantum revolution. I see the QuanTour light source an important milestone in practical quantum technology, and even more impressive devices, like quantum-processors and -memories will follow.”

Beyond its outreach objectives, the QuanTour project has had real scientific benefits for researchers working on the quantum phenomenon exploited by the light source. “For researchers like me, who were part of the development of this kind of semiconductor-based quantum light sources, the QuanTour source provided important insight into how different laboratory conditions and measurement strategies influences the performance,” said Schimpf.

“It also gave us an idea about the portability of a realistic quantum device and to understand how much preparation is necessary to get the device working in a new environment. I personally was very impressed with how straight-forward this process really was. Such an ease-of-use, stability and quality of a high-end quantum light source was unheard of even a couple of years ago.”

In addition to its outreach and research benefits, the QuanTour source has also been an excellent educational resource, which was used extensively in the Cavendish to teach new students about single photon emitters, photonic structures and the day-to-day work in the lab.

“I am absolutely delighted that the project has received such prestigious recognition,” said Prof Atatüre, Cambridge’s ‘QuanTour Hero’. “What began as an idea conceived by Doris Reiter and Tobias Heindel soon became a collaborative vision, as we worked together to launch it as a truly global public engagement initiative for the International Year of Quantum. This collective effort has made a remarkable difference in advancing public understanding of quantum science, especially here in the UK and Ireland.”

“The QuanTour team’s exceptional efforts to engage and inspire a wide range of audiences make them truly deserving of the Lise Meitner Medal. At the Cavendish Laboratory, we were proud to contribute to this initiative and play our part in showcasing the collaborative and global nature of quantum science, as well as its transformative potential.

“This success stands as a clear proof of the power of collaboration as the driving force behind research in the 21^st century. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to the QuanTour team, especially Doris and Tobias, for leading such a brilliant project.”