Thinker, diver, pilot, code-breaker

A little bit of quantum physics landed in homes across Singapore this weekend thanks to a profile of CQT's Director Artur Ekert in Singapore's TODAY newspaper. The 4 February article, titled "Thinker, diver, pilot, code-breaker", presents Artur's work "living in the world of atoms", his interests in life outside of science and his expectation for research success in Singapore.

"In the years to come, if the funding continues in Singapore, the very major breakthroughs will happen here," Artur told TODAY.

Artur is CQT's founding Director and has guided the Centre to its current success. He is well-known in the scientific community as one of the pioneers of quantum cryptography, a technique for secure communication that uses the rules of quantum mechanics to protect the distribution of a secret key. The article reveals the perhaps less well-known facts that Artur is also a diving instructor and enjoys flying single-engine planes.

CQTians may recognise Artur in this description by the article's author, Paul Gilfeather: "His focus appears absolute, while his outward persona is positively Zen-like".

In print, the piece occupied a full page and was trailed on the front page. The print version is available through TODAY's pdf archive. An expanded version of the article appears online; read it here. The online article includes this extra piece of advice from Artur: "Challenge, challenge, challenge. That is a recipe for success."

The interview is the first in a series of interviews with scientists under the umbrella of Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF). CQT was established in December 2007 with an initial grant from NRF and Singapore's Ministry of Education.