After more than a decade of breakthroughs at the University of Ottawa, Professor Karimi will continue to lead the µçłµÎŢÂë-based Structural Quantum Optics (SQO) group while collaborating internationally.
It’s a moment to reflect on the curiosity and flashes of wonder that started it all, and the possibilities still ahead. Ask him where his work has had the biggest impact and he simply shrugs.
“We’ve worked across communication, imaging, simulation,” he says. “The goal has never been about being first but about providing tools that solve real problems and unlock new potential.”
That childhood fascination resurfaced on his final day as director of NEXQT. In a post on his X account, he shared:
“On my last day in the Ottawa office, I noticed a familiar sign — a rainbow cast by a prism, just like the one that first inspired me to pursue optics. It appeared on a chair right after a meeting. A quiet, perfect goodbye.”
Making quantum practical
Spend time with Professor Karimi and it’s clear he enjoys the philosophical side of quantum mechanics and its “unusual” rules and “counter-intuitive” logic. Yet he is equally committed to turning science into tangible applications.
“Believe it or not, I am not allergic to practicality,” he jokes. “We actually keep good track of the technologies that have come out of our lab, and the list is not short.”
His team has developed systems that work with some of light’s lesser-known traits — like how it twists as it travels (called orbital angular momentum) and how its waves line up (known as phase). These properties might sound abstract, but they have powerful real-world applications.
By harnessing them, the team has helped make messaging systems that are nearly impossible to hack and microscopes that can see delicate biological samples — like living cells — without damaging them.
Professor Karimi’s group was among the first to send complex, encrypted signals outside a lab, namely across the Ottawa River, between downtown rooftops, even through water. These weren’t flashy demonstrations; they were real-world stress tests designed to prove that quantum communication can work in unpredictable environments.
“In regular communication, your messages are only safe until someone builds a quantum computer,” he explains. “But if you use the quantum properties of light, you can send messages that no computer — no matter how advanced — can crack.”
Today, the lab is applying similar principles to imaging. They aim to photograph living cells using so little light that the cells don’t even notice.
“If we can go from using millions of photons to using fewer than one,” he says, “that’s not just a cleaner image. It could mean the difference between life and death for the cells.”
Thinking in decades, not quarters
Professor Karimi is quick to remind people that this kind of progress doesn’t happen overnight. And he’s fine with that.
“We’re working on things that might take 20 years to reach a clinical setting,” he says. “If the science is sound, it’s only a matter of time before someone picks it up and runs with it.”
History shows us how this patience in science pays off. Karimi points to the 1960s, when physicists explored liquid crystals purely out of curiosity. Decades later, that foundational research became the backbone of modern tech, powering the screens on our phones, computers and TVs.
Today, his lab is advancing quantum microscopy: tools that can peer into delicate materials without damaging them with harsh light. This kind of precision could revolutionize how scientists study everything from fragile biological cells to new nanotechnologies.
Karimi believes that the same quantum principles could transform medical imaging. By applying quantum techniques to X-rays, researchers hope to produce clearer images with far less radiation. If realized, this breakthrough could lead to safer and more accurate hospital scans for millions of patients.
No phones, no egos - yes questions!
Whether in the classroom or the lab, Professor Karimi’s philosophy is simple: phones are banned unless you’re brave enough to answer them on speaker. Titles take a backseat to curiosity. And undergraduates aren’t just learning: they’re leading.
“Most of our papers have undergrad first authors,” he notes. “I don’t care if you’re 16 or 35. If you’re doing the work, you’re part of the discovery.”
That respect for young minds likely comes from his own beginnings. Raised in Iran in a household where books were prized over other possessions, Professor Karimi learned early that asking good questions often mattered more than having perfect answers.
The next chapter (still in the lab)
While Professor Karimi wraps up his formal role at the University of Ottawa to pursue new career ventures, he remains closely engaged with the µçłµÎŢÂë-based SQO group he founded.
The field of quantum optics may be changing fast, but his approach remains grounded and effective.
“There’s always pressure to chase what’s trendy,” he says. “But if you stay close to the fundamentals and stay curious, you end up seeing things others miss.”
Curiosity, persistence and a steady focus on fundamentals have defined Professor Karimi’s work for years. By all signs, the most exciting discoveries are still to come.