Professor Jonathan Leach recognised among top global innovators in photonics

Heriot-Watt University is proud to announce that Professor Jonathan Leach has been named among the Photonics100 for 2025, a prestigious list curated by Electro Optics that honours the world’s leading minds driving advancements in photonics. This recognition highlights Heriot-Watt's leadership in quantum and photonics sciences.

The Photonics100 celebrates individuals globally who are shaping the future of photonics across sectors such as telecommunications, quantum technologies, and healthcare. Professor Leach was recognised for his groundbreaking work in quantum photonics and his contributions to next-generation photonic technologies.

Professor Leach’s work in Quantum Optics and Computational Imaging at Heriot-Watt spans across transformative initiatives, and is key to the future Quantum Enhanced Position Navigation and Timing(QEPNT) and Quantum Sensing Imaging and Timing (QuSIT) hubs. These hubs, part of the UK Quantum Technology Programme, aim to build the emerging technologies that will drive secure communication networks, advanced computing, and sensing capabilities in the UK and beyond.

The UK Hub for Quantum Enabled Position Navigation and Timing (QEPNT) will lead and support the community, ecosystem and technologies required for the UK to be a global leader in future position, navigation and timing (PNT) systems. QuSIT, meanwhile, is working on overcoming the main research barriers to scale up and manufacture quantum sensing, imaging and timing devices, facilitating practical quantum applications in both industry and everyday life.

Warren Clark, CEO of Europa Science, which manages The Photonics100, commented, " We’re thrilled to celebrate this community of photonics pioneers, whose work is changing industries around the world. With so many great minds in one place, it’s a prime moment to spark some insightful discussions and drive progress on key issues shaping photonics today. "

Advancing photonics and quantum research at Heriot-Watt

Professor Leach’s accolade highlights Heriot-Watt’s commitment to pioneering research and its ambition to create a thriving photonics and quantum sciences cluster. The university's physics research is ranked number one in the UK for world-leading outputs, with 97% classified as world-leading or internationally excellent by the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).

Heriot-Watt also leads the UKRI-funded Integrated Quantum Network (IQN), a pioneering initiative that brings together transformative research across the UK’s quantum science and photonics sectors. The IQN hub fosters collaborative research with three other major Quantum Technology Hubs, working closely with academic partners to advance the UK’s quantum infrastructure and capabilities. Read more about the IQN.

Further cementing its prominence, Heriot-Watt is home to the Heriot-Watt Optical Ground Station (HOGS), a state-of-the-art facility designed to demonstrate and test satellite quantum secure communications. Scheduled to be fully operational by late autumn 2024, HOGS will play a pivotal role in researching methods to send secure transmissions via satellites and will support innovation in space environmentalism and laser communication networks. Read more about HOGS.

These initiatives are integral to Heriot-Watt’s strategy to establish a vibrant photonics and quantum sciences ecosystem across its Edinburgh campus, research park, and global ecosystem.

The university congratulates Professor Leach on this well-deserved honour, representing both a personal achievement and a testament to the pioneering photonics research being carried out at Heriot-Watt.

Anyone interested in collaborating to unlock the potential of quantum science and photonic technologies can get in touch with our Global Research Innovation and Discovery (GRID) team at GRID@hw.ac.uk.