The Quantum Internet Research Group of the University of Naples Federico II will take part in the 2nd Workshop on Quantum Network Engineering, organized as part of IEEE Quantum Week 2026 (QCE26).
As quantum networking technologies continue to advance across multiple physical platforms, the transition from experimental demonstrations to practical, scalable networks brings increasingly important engineering challenges. Questions surrounding network architectures, protocol design, abstraction, automation, and software implementation are becoming central to the development of future quantum networks.
The workshop brings together researchers and stakeholders from academia, industry, and the public sector to discuss these challenges and explore new approaches towards the engineering and deployment of quantum networks.
During Session 3: Quantum Network Architectures, Protocols, and Software Implementation, Prof. Angela Sara Cacciapuoti will deliver the invited talk:
“Beyond Layering: Composable Protocol Primitives for Quantum Networks”
The talk will address new perspectives on the design of quantum network protocols and architectures, exploring approaches that move beyond traditional layered models towards more flexible and composable protocol primitives.
Angela Sara Cacciapuoti is Full Professor of Quantum Communications and Networks at the University of Naples Federico II, co-founder of the Quantum Internet Research Group, and Principal Investigator of the ERC Consolidator Grant QNattyNet, which aims to lay the foundations for a quantum-native Internet. Her research spans theoretical foundations, network architectures, and simulation tools for quantum networking.
Her contributions to the field have received several international distinctions, including the 2024 IEEE Communications Society Award for Advances in Communication. She also serves in several editorial and scientific roles within the quantum communications and networking community and actively contributes to international research and roadmapping initiatives.
We are proud to contribute to the discussion on the engineering challenges that will shape the transition from today’s quantum networking experiments to the scalable quantum networks of the future.
Quantum networks are envisioned to achieve novel capabilities that are provably impossible using classical networks and could be transformative to science, economy, and national security. These novel capabilities range from cryptography, sensing and metrology, distributed systems, to secure quantum computing in the Cloud. To realize these great potentials, quantum networks are being actively researched and developed worldwide across different physical platforms (e.g., superconducting circuits, nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond, neutral atoms, and trapped ions). Several building blocks for quantum networking have been developed and demonstrated in a variety of experiments. For example, integrating ion traps with optical cavities provides the potential of on-demand and coherent light-matter interfaces for quantum networking. High-fidelity quantum frequency conversion converts photons from infrared light frequencies to optimal telecom wavelengths for long-distance quantum networking. This research is typically Physics-based, thereby they aim to address scientific challenges faced in quantum networks. However, to realize the practical deployment of quantum networks, many critical engineering challenges need to be addressed. For example, as the size and complexity of quantum networks increase, it is evident that manual control of quantum networks will be insufficient. The issues of quantum network abstraction, scaling of network architecture and protocols, and software automation are becoming increasingly important. This workshop seeks to convene a multidisciplinary community of public, private, and research stakeholders to present and refine quantum network engineering challenges.
3:00 – 4:30 pm
Session 3: Quantum Network Architectures, Protocols, and Software Implementation (Session Chair: Dr. Wenji Wu, ESnet, USA.)
- Beyond Layering: Composable Protocol Primitives for Quantum Networks, Prof. Angela S. Cacciapuoti, Univ. of Naples Federico II, Italy.
Angela Sara Cacciapuoti is a Full Professor of Quantum Communications and Networks at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, and co-founder of the Quantum Internet Research Group (www.quantuminternet.it). She is an ERC grantee and Principal Investigator of the ERC Consolidator Grant QNattyNet (https://qnattynet.quantuminternet.it), which aims to lay the foundations of a quantum-native Internet. Her research lies in quantum networking, spanning theoretical foundations, network architectures, and simulation tools.
Her contributions have received several distinctions, including the 2024 IEEE Communications Society Award for Advances in Communication, one of the Society’s most prestigious technical awards. She is currently an Area Editor for IEEE Transactions on Communications and a Senior Editor for the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (JSAC) Quantum Series. She also serves on the editorial boards of npj Quantum Information, IEEE Transactions on Quantum Engineering, and IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials.
She actively contributes to the IRTF Quantum Internet Research Group (QIRG). Furthermore, she is involved in various capacities in European strategy and roadmapping initiatives for quantum communications and networking.
