Abstract

How can we be sure that a quantum device really performs as intended? As quantum technologies promise secure communication, certified randomness, and unprecedented computational power, verifying their behavior becomes both essential and surprisingly challenging. One of the deepest results of 20th-century physics, Bell’s theorem, has become a practical tool: it allows us to test quantum behavior by treating devices as black boxes and observing only their input–output statistics. In this talk, I’ll introduce the central ideas behind this approach, known as device-independent quantum information, and show how fundamental physics offers new ways to build and trust quantum technologies.

About the speaker

Stefano Pironio is a theoretical physicist working on quantum information theory. He is a F.R.S.–FNRS Research Director at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He obtained his PhD from ULB in 2004 and held postdoctoral positions at Caltech, ICFO–The Institute of Photonic Sciences, and the University of Geneva. His work has been recognized with the QIPC Young Investigator Award, the De Donder Prize of the Belgian Academy of Sciences, and the Prix La Recherche.