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<\/p>\n\n The new David Potter Institute for Quantum Information and Spacetime, established thanks to a landmark award from the David and Elaine Potter Foundation, will seek to reconcile quantum mechanics and gravity, the two most fundamental theories of the universe. <\/p>\n
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Based within UCL\u2019s Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the new interdisciplinary\u00a0Potter\u00a0Institute\u00a0will\u00a0bring together leading\u00a0scientists\u00a0in quantum information\u00a0theory, gravity and\u00a0high energy physics.<\/p>\n
At the heart of the\u00a0partnership\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0question\u00a0that has challenged physicists for more than a century: how to unite\u00a0quantum mechanics, which governs the smallest building blocks of nature, with gravity, which describes how spacetime bends to shape the universe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite\u00a0significant\u00a0progress in both areas, scientists do not yet know whether\u00a0spacetime itself is quantum.\u00a0The\u00a0Potter\u00a0Institute will focus on answering this question by bringing together innovative theoretical ideas with\u00a0novel\u00a0experimental approaches, many of which have been\u00a0developed\u00a0and trialled\u00a0at UCL.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Co-director Professor Jonathan Oppenheim<\/a> said: \u201cQuantum gravity research has historically been pure blackboard physics. We are now in the position of being able to design and build towards experiments that could settle a question that generations of physicists have struggled with.\u201d<\/p>\n Many physicists have argued that Einstein\u2019s theory of gravity must be modified, or \u201cquantised\u201d, to fit within quantum theory, but Professor Oppenheim and colleagues propose that spacetime may, in fact, be classical in nature \u2013 not governed by quantum theory at all. <\/p>\n To probe the fundamental nature of spacetime, researchers will develop quantum sensors capable of measuring incredibly small forces with unprecedented precision.\u00a0<\/p>\n From discovery to future technologies\u00a0 Potter\u00a0Institute researchers\u00a0will work in tandem with\u00a0the\u00a0Quantum Biomedical Sensing Research Hub (Q-BIOMED),<\/a>\u00a0led by UCL and\u00a0the University of\u00a0Cambridge,\u00a0to\u00a0develop quantum sensing technology that can be deployed in\u00a0high-impact\u00a0healthcare settings.\u00a0\u00a0This could enable significantly\u00a0more sensitive\u00a0detection of cells, molecules and processes in the body, and thereby improve\u00a0early disease diagnosis and treatment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0Potter\u00a0Institute will also serve as a focal point for collaboration, hosting visiting researchers, workshops and students, and helping to train the next generation of scientists working at the frontier of theoretical and experimental physics.\u00a0<\/p>\n A philanthropic legacy\u00a0 Psion became a leader in software for microcomputers, and from 1984 pioneered the management of personal information with ‘The Organiser’, the world’s first\u00a0handheld computer for personal use.\u00a0\u00a0In 1998 David led the creation of Symbian Limited, in partnership with Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola\u00a0and Matsushita, whose operating system underpinned the first generation of smartphones.\u00a0\u00a0His career, moving from the frontiers of physics research into building a globally significant technology company, reflected a lifelong conviction that fundamental science and its real-world application should advance together.\u00a0<\/p>\n The David and Elaine Potter Foundation was established in 1999 with the mission of contributing to economic development and well-being in a plural, rational and tolerant society.\u00a0The Foundation has consistently supported projects that promote reason and education, to improve understanding, governance and a stronger civil society. The Potter Institute extends that mission into fundamental physics research: the kind of long-term, curiosity-driven enquiry that shaped David’s own career, and that he believed was essential to progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThis gift reflects the Foundation\u2019s long-standing commitment to advancing knowledge and supporting ambitious, long-term research,\u201d said Elaine Potter,\u00a0co- founder of the David and Elaine Potter Foundation. \u201cThe new Potter Institute is a vehicle through which we can help provide the academic freedom to pursue big ideas, the impact of which may shape the future in ways we cannot yet predict. David was excited about the\u00a0prospect of creating a world-class academic institution to explore the frontiers of knowledge. We are delighted that the Potter Institute will combine experimental and theoretical physics to answer the big questions about life with real-world impact. It will be a fitting legacy to David.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Leadership at the cutting edge of quantum science\u00a0 Professor Bose said: \u201cWith this gift, the\u00a0David\u00a0Potter Institute\u00a0for\u00a0Quantum Information and Spacetime will become a powerful new base for global collaboration, drawing researchers and students from around the world to UCL.\u201d <\/p>\n Professor Oppenheim said: \u201cBy investing in fundamental discovery, the David\u00a0and Elaine Potter Foundation is\u00a0helping to lay the\u00a0groundwork\u00a0for new ways of understanding the universe\u00a0and the laws governing our natural world.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr\u00a0Michael Spence,\u00a0UCL\u00a0President and Provost, said: \u201cIt is landmark philanthropic gifts like that of the David and Elaine Potter Foundation that shift the dial on what is possible.\u00a0They light the touchpaper on ambitious, curiosity-driven research that can only be delivered by world-leading researchers in tandem with world-class partners.<\/p>\n
Created to push the boundaries of fundamental physics,\u00a0the research led by the\u00a0Potter\u00a0Institute\u00a0could lead to\u00a0exciting advances in quantum technologies.\u00a0Quantum sensing is expected to disrupt industries that rely on sensor technology, including healthcare and engineering, and the\u00a0Potter\u00a0Institute will be an\u00a0incubator for innovative spin-out technologies\u00a0for the\u00a0benefit\u00a0of society.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr David Potter CBE, who died in June 2026,\u00a0was a pioneer of mobile computing and a lifelong champion of scientific research.\u00a0\u00a0Born in South Africa, he studied Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge, before completing a doctorate in mathematical physics at Imperial College London, where he was subsequently appointed to the academic staff. During the 1970s he taught physics at the University of London and the University of California, and\u00a0wrote\u00a0academic papers and a book on the application of computing to physics, before leaving a tenured academic\u00a0career to found Psion in 1980.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Potter\u00a0Institute will be\u00a0co\u2011directed\u00a0by\u00a0Professors Jonathan Oppenheim\u00a0and\u00a0Sougato Bose<\/a>,\u00a0internationally recognised leaders whose work has helped to define the field of quantum information and gravity.\u00a0The head of the experimental programme will be\u00a0Professor Peter Barker<\/a>, who\u00a0leads a world-leading experimental team in quantum levitated\u00a0optomechanics.\u00a0The\u00a0Potter\u00a0Institute will feature researchers from across the departments of Mathematics, Computer Science, Philosophy\u00a0and Science & Technology Studies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n