Luiz Davidovich

Profile

Luiz Davidovich is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He earned his PhD at the University of Rochester and has since focused on quantum optics and quantum information. He was awarded the Brazilian Grand-Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit in 2000 and received Brazil's most prestigious science award, the Admiral Alvaro Alberto Prize, from the Brazilian National Research Council in 2010. In 2001, he received the Physics Prize from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and in 2025, he was honored with the Willis Lamb Award and the TWAS Apex Award. He has been a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences since 1995, and an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences since 2006, as well as of the European Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2021. He has been a Fellow of Optica since 2010 and of the American Physical Society since 2014. In 2019, he became a Fellow of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M, where he also served as a part-time Research Professor of the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering from 2021 to 2024. He was a member of the Executive Board of the International Council of Science (ICSU) from 2011 to 2014, served as President of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences from 2016 to 2022, and was Secretary-General of TWAS from 2019 to 2022.

He founded the Millennium Institute for Quantum Information in Brazil, established in 2001, which facilitated the creation of new laboratories across the country, involving more than 40 principal investigators and strong international collaborations. It led to the founding of the National Institute of Science and Technology for Quantum Information, which began in 2009 under Davidovich as vice-coordinator and includes around 120 principal investigators.

Davidovich’s work primarily focuses on the dynamics of open systems, combining theoretical and experimental efforts with applications in cavity QED, entangled photons and quantum metrology. He contributed to the theory of cavity QED experiments conducted at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, and studied the robustness of entangled photon states through experiments at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His research has also included quantum walks and laser theory. Recently, he has been working on quantum metrology of open systems. Davidovich has mentored around 30 researchers, including PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. He has lectured on quantum optics and quantum metrology at various international schools and institutions, including the Les Houches School and the Collège de France in Paris. He served on the editorial boards of New Journal of Physics, Physical Review A and Physical Review Letters. Additionally, he has served on prize committees of the Optica Society and of the American Institute of Physics.

Election Statement

Optica has been an important part of my professional life for many years. I have contributed to the Society through conferences, service on prize committees and refereeing papers for Optica journals. More recently, as a Director-at-Large on the Board, I have had the opportunity to witness firsthand the vitality of this remarkable international community and the challenges it faces in a rapidly evolving scientific and technological landscape.

Optics and photonics uniquely combine fundamental scientific discovery with transformative technological innovation. Our field spans applications in medicine, astronomy, communications, sensing and manufacturing, while also driving emerging areas such as quantum information and photonic quantum computing. This breadth naturally connects academia and industry, and Optica plays a central role in strengthening this connection.

If elected, I will work to reinforce Optica’s global presence as a truly international society. Expanding conferences, workshops and scientific exchanges across different regions of the world is essential to our mission. In this effort, Student Chapters are particularly important: they provide an exceptional environment for early engagement with science, leadership development and the building of international networks among young researchers.

Equally important are the values that define our community. Optica stands for scientific excellence, openness, integrity, collaboration and inclusiveness. At a time when the world faces growing divisions, scientific societies have a special role in promoting dialogue and cooperation across borders. By upholding these values, Optica can continue to use the universal language of science to advance knowledge and benefit humanity. I would be honored to serve as Vice-President on this mission.