Piotr Roztocki
PhD in Energy and Materials Science (2022)
Co-founder and CTO, Ki3 Photonics Technologies Inc.

"Science, especially experimental work, is a team sport. Impact comes from the collaboration of experts from different disciplines."

Passionate about optics, integrated photonics and quantum science, Piotr Roztocki was won over by INRS on his first visit. “INRS has state-of-the-art facilities for research in these fields, but more importantly, it has an atmosphere of possibility,” he says. This combination of high-level infrastructure and scientific dynamism convinced him to pursue his PhD in energy and materials science.

During his studies, Piotr was able to explore a wide range of sub-fields in optics, stimulated by the diversity of expertise present and the wealth of equipment available. INRS gave him the freedom to pursue his research topics while tackling ambitious projects as part of a team. “It was great to collaborate on achieving very ambitious goals in our field.” It was in this stimulating environment that he met several collaborators with whom he still works today.

These encounters shaped his career path. After graduating in 2022, Piotr became full-time CTO of Ki3 Photonics, a start-up company he co-founded with colleagues from INRS. Here, the team develops hardware and software modules for scalable quantum networks, in close collaboration with Professor Morandotti's group. As part of this synergy, Ki3 Photonics acts as an industrial partner for several research grants, while INRS makes available its state-of-the-art infrastructure in nonlinear photonics to design and test the company's products. This mutually beneficial relationship has enabled INRS to become one of Ki3 Photonics' first customers, reinforcing the research group's technological lead while validating the importance of the quantum technologies developed by the start-up. "Science, especially experimental work, is a team sport. Impact comes from the collaboration of experts from different disciplines," emphasizes Piotr.

In addition to a solid scientific grounding, Piotr's time at INRS has given him invaluable experience in project management, grant writing and technological innovation. It is with this expertise that he now supports the development of cutting-edge technologies. His advice to students: “Take advantage of your time as a student to gain not only academic experience, but also industrial experience through internships, patent writing, workshops, etc.”

For the future, he looks forward to continuing to learn, developing innovative products and working with talented engineers and scientists.

[Interviewed in april 2025.]