Spring 2026 Physics Careers Seminar Series Continues March 27 with Alumnus Dr. Nathan Arnold, Co-Founder/CEO of Photon Queue

The Spring 2026 Physics Careers Seminar series continues on Friday, March 27 with a talk by alumnus Dr. Nathan Arnold from Photon Queue, who will talk about "Science to Spin-Out: Building a Deep-Tech Company on Your Research" at 12:00 noon in 204 Loomis (Interaction Room). Details of Nathan's seminar are given below.

Time: 12:00 noon on Friday, March 27, 2026

Location: 204 Loomis (Interaction Room). A Zoom link will also be forwarded to the Illinois Physics Grad Student email list. For a copy of the link, please contact Lance Cooper (slcooper@illinois.edu).

Title: Science to Spin-Out: Building a Deep-Tech Company on Your Research

Speakers: Dr. Nathan Arnold, Co-Founder and CEO, Photon Queue

Abstract: Nearly every transformative technology we rely on today started as a deeply technical research project. We as researchers spend the better part of a decade becoming world experts in cutting-edge fields, and then, more often than not, we move on to unrelated work once we graduate. Those who stay in research do important work, but the path is long and the progress is often slow. In this seminar, I'll make the case that the expertise you're building right now may have a shorter path to real-world impact than you think. I'll share my own journey of translating doctoral research into a commercial venture. I'll discuss how we identified interest in the technology, the opportunities we recognized and acted on, and the lessons we learned along the way.  

Bio: Nathan is co-founder/CEO of Photon Queue and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During his PhD, Nathan worked in Paul Kwiat’s Quantum Information group. His research develops free-space quantum memories that store and release single photons with low loss. At Photon Queue, he leads the efforts of translating these memory advances into practical hardware for leading quantum labs and companies. Previously, he worked at Sandia National Laboratories and has participated in programs including Chain Reaction Innovations, Duality Quantum Accelerator, and Creative Destruction Lab. Outside of work, he is also a husband and father, and enjoys DIY projects and fast vehicles.  

You can see the rest of the Spring 2026 Physics Careers Seminar series here: https://physics.illinois.edu/calendar/careers-seminar