Photo of Jiwon Yune

Computer & electronics hardware

Jiwon Yune

Providing solutions for the safety of people and the environment.

Year Honored
2022

Organization
SDT Inc

Region
Korea

Quantum technology is already powering unprecedented advancements across disciplines to tackle some of the world’s most complex scientific and engineering problems. For decades, quantum science has captured the public’s imagination, but the question of how to commercialize and integrate quantum technologies into real-world markets has remained a more elusive equation.

Fascinated by natural sciences from a young age, Jiwon started his research in quantum physics early, joining the Vuletic lab at MIT as a high school student. With his undergraduate and master’s degrees at MIT, Jiwon had the unique experience of conducting lab-based research across all major quantum computing technologies, communications, and sensors using systems, such as neutral atoms, diamond color-centers, and photons. He then contributed to the scientific community in his home country during his tenure at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

Leveraging the insights he established as a researcher, Jiwon founded SDT Inc. in 2017. With the mission of bringing digital transformation to the world’s most critical industries and providing solutions for the safety of people and the environment, SDT is helping enterprises across the world harness seamless edge connectivity and address today’s important resource challenges. SDT has since brought the benefits of edge computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) to even the most difficult environments and industrial sites, such as nuclear plants, incineration plants, shipyards, and sewage systems.

His experience with the cloud and cybersecurity has made it inevitable for him to come back to his area of expertise: quantum technology. Now Jiwon is helping researchers navigate uncharted territory by providing the tools necessary for further investigation of the quantum nature of the universe. SDT’s coincidence counting unit (CCU), time-tagging measurement unit (TTMU) and artificial waveform generator (AWG) are equipping Korea’s leading research institutions with the most precise and practical control instrumentation, enabling sub-nanosecond measurement and processing of quantum information. In addition, SDT is providing access to quantum computing resources via the cloud to remove the cost-barrier entry to quantum computing research. Outside of labs, SDT is building quantum secure communication systems for cloud infrastructure and the world’s first quantum-protected IP camera with end-to-end encryption.