About - Riverlane

The world’s first quantum engineering company. We are hardware obsessed, qubit agile and commercially driven.

Our software transforms quantum computers from experimental technology into commercial products. We tease the highest possible performance out of quantum software to reach quantum advantage sooner. By making Riverlane’s software portable across technologies, early adopters don’t need to choose which technology to pursue.

Leadership (7)

Steve Brierley CEO and Founder
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Steve founded Riverlane because he believes that bringing together pioneers in software, algorithms and architectures in one company is the only path to commercially useful quantum computers. His dream is to make quantum computers as transparent and well known as RaspberryPi.

Steve is a global leader in the commercialisation of quantum computers and sits on the UK government’s Quantum Computing Expert Group. He spent almost a decade in the intelligence community and as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge leading major research projects in quantum computing.

Steve holds a PhD in quantum information from the University of York. He is a big music fan and spent much of his youth playing the saxophone in jazz, funk and soul bands.
Recent posts by Steve Brierley

Team 19 Jul, 2021

Celebrating the first five years of Riverlane: a look at how far we’ve come

Technology 11 Feb, 2020

How to make quantum computers useful
Marco Ghibaudi VP Engineering
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Marco is an FPGA expert with a PhD in Innovative technologies from CERN / ScuolaSuperiore Sant’Anna Pisa. As part of his PhD, he contributed to the design of the CERN ATLAS experiment back-end electronics and to the development of prototypes used in Automative, IOT and Fibre-optic Communications. In the past five years, Marco has worked in multinational companies specialising in Systems on Chip and Consumer Electronics. Outside work, Marco loves reading, boxing and baking.
Melissa Iball VP People
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Melissa is responsible for defining and implementing a world-class people strategy for the Riverlane team. She brings 17 years’ experience spanning multiple industries, from fintech to pharma, across the UK, Europe, US and India. Melissa is an expert in building teams, implementing scalable systems and processes, and nurturing a great culture and staff experience.

Outside of work she enjoys running (slowly), home improvement projects and spending time with her family.
Glenn Manoff Chief Marketing Officer
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Glenn brings over 20 years experience in C-level Communications, Marketing and Sustainability roles at leading technology companies, including Trustpilot, O2, Telefonica, Ebone and EE.

As a key member of the management team that scaled Trustpilot from startup to global market leader and unicorn IPO, Glenn developed the brand into a universal symbol of trust with billions of online brand impressions every month.

At O2, he co-led the European launch of the iPhone, helped transform the Millenium Dome into The O2, built one of Europe’s most successful social impact and sustainability programmes (Think Big) and was part of the management team that transformed the company from last to first place in a hyper-competitive market.

Outside of work, Glenn coaches baseball, is vice chair of youth music charity Future Talent and loves listening to old jazz records.
Leonie Mueck Chief Product Officer
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As Chief Product Officer, Leonie is responsible for building, commercialising and marketing Riverlane’s product lines. Leonie is passionate about helping Riverlane’s customers move quickly and easily to quantum advantage.

Leonie brings eight years’ experience in quantum technologies and business development, with a PhD in quantum chemistry from the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz in Germany. After her PhD, she held senior editorial roles at Nature and Nature Communications where she was responsible for covering quantum computing and other topics in physics. An ardent supporter of Open Science, Leonie then joined PLOS ONE, building and leading a physical sciences and engineering division in a fast-paced management environment.

Leonie is a huge supporter of diversity in STEM and serves on NumFOCUS’s diversity and inclusion committee. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the violin and spending time with her family.
Recent posts by Leonie Mueck

Technology 14 May, 2020

Riverlane to build radically new operating system for quantum computers

Events 11 May, 2020

QCTIP2020 – Cutting-edge quantum computing theory and its applications
Bek Simmons Chief Operating Officer
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Bek is responsible for building world-class teams and scaling company operations to enable Riverlane to reach its strategic goals. Bek enjoys supporting and empowering high-performing teams and has a supreme talent for driving work to completion.

Bek has 15 years’ experience within leading health, research and higher education organisations. She co-founded THIS Institute, a £42m healthcare research institute at the University of Cambridge, building a team of 35 people in one year. Bek also has experience in fundraising and stakeholder management across a range of sectors and countries as Chief of Staff at the University of Cambridge.

Bek holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from the Open University. Outside of work, she runs, reads and plays a mean game of squash.
Recent posts by Bek Simmons

Team 01 Mar, 2021

Why you should consider a career in quantum computing

Team 21 Dec, 2020

Giving a damn: Five must-read books to lead your team to success
Cory Vander Jagt VP Business Development & Strategic Alliances
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Cory has over 15 years experience bringing new technologies to market through strategic partnerships. As VP of Business Development and Strategic Alliances at Riverlane, Cory is passionate about establishing partnerships that accelerate the adoption of Riverlane products and unleash the power of quantum computers.

Cory has an engineering degree from the University of Michigan, and was previously a founding member of the partner organisations at Salesforce.com, GoodData, and GitHub. Cory lives with his family in Truckee, California where they enjoy a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, mountain biking, and skiing.

Team (52)

Seyed Amir Alavi Embedded Software Engineer
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As an embedded software engineer and control systems researcher, Amir designed different products in areas such as IoT, smart grid, industrial control systems, and communication networks. Amir employs the latest software and hardware development technologies, from real-time operating systems to embedded Linux. His main expertise is in model-based control system design and implementation. During his PhD at Queen Mary University of London, Amir worked on the development of distributed multi-agent control systems that operate over wireless communications protocols.
Lewis Anderson PhD intern
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Lewis completed an MSci in Physics at Imperial College London in 2019 and is currently undertaking a PhD at Oxford University under the supervision of Professor Dieter Jaksch. Lewis’s research is focussed on developing variational quantum algorithms for quantum chemistry and machine learning. In his spare time, he enjoys rowing, running and brewing (as well as drinking) his own beer.
Ben Barber Senior Quantum Scientist
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Ben completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge and has 11 years of research experience in probabilistic and extremal combinatorics. He now works on the discrete mathematics problems arising in quantum error correction. Ben has an extensive history of maths communication and produces the UK’s only live maths comedy panel show. He also enjoys climbing trees, functional programming, and accidentally sang barbershop for two years.
Kenton Barnes Quantum Engineer
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Kenton is a Computer Scientist working on designing and implementing the software needed for Deltaflow.OS. Before working at Riverlane, he achieved a Master’s in Computer Science at Oxford, where he worked on synthesising quantum circuits using the ZX calculus. During his studies he has picked up an interest in topics such as programming language theory, automata theory and functional programming. He is enthusiastic about applying these interests to problems that are currently relevant to the quantum computing industry.
Gordon Bateman Office Manager and IT Coordinator
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Gordon joined Riverlane following 10 years at the University of Cambridge as Facilities & IT Coordinator. He previously worked in multiple roles at a tech start-up in the telecommunications industry before settling on Facilities Management as a career path.

Outside work, Gordon is an avid video gamer and enjoys travelling whenever possible.
Nick Blunt Quantum Engineer
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Nick completed an MSci in Physics at Imperial College London and a PhD in Quantum Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. He then conducted postdoctoral research in Berkeley and as a Research Fellow at St John’s College, Cambridge, focusing on the development of quantum Monte Carlo methods in electronic structure theory. Outside of work he enjoys reading, games, and playing piano.
Emma Bradshaw Executive Assistant
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Emma is an executive assistant with a decade’s worth of admin experience, including most recently providing C-suite support to Riverlane’s CEO.

Emma achieved a first-class honours degree in English Literature at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, and pursued a career in business support shortly thereafter, gaining professional administrative qualifications.

Her previous position was as EA to directors at global tech consultancy firm Cambridge Consultants, where she supported a team of over 90 people and built a strong network of industry contacts. Emma was formerly a real estate paralegal at a leading national law firm; she has also worked in PR and communications.

Emma is happiest when using her organisational skills to their fullest to enhance the effectiveness of those around her.
Ksenija Brankovic Senior Project Manager
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Ksenija holds an MSc in Computer Engineering and Information Technology from the University of Belgrade. She has more than 15 years’ experience in Product Development of Distributed Control and Communication Intelligent Systems. Most recently, she worked in Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) technology. Prior to that she was a System Architect and Product Development manager in the world of Small Cells and Mobile Network Infrastructure.
Outside work, Ksenija does a bit of yoga, enjoys books, films, music and cooking for friends and family.
Richard Brierton Product Marketing Manager
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Dr Richard Brierton is a strategic marketer working in the B2B software market since 1994. Richard achieved his Phd in electronic engineering at the University of Liverpool, and initially pursued a career in software development for speech and image recognition before moving into senior roles in general management, product marketing, product management and strategic marketing. Richard was a founder at Neurascript, and managed the company through 8 years of consistent growth through to acquisition by Kofax, the world leader in document capture. At HP, he managed the global marketing campaigns for the company’s information governance products, helping the team achieve consistent marketing pipeline growth.

Richard has a passion for simplification (doing fewer thing better) and figuring out the story behind the numbers.
Anton Buyskikh Senior Quantum Engineer
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After completing a PhD in theoretical physics Anton continued working on out-of-equilibrium simulations of quantum many-body systems with long-range interactions at the University of Strathclyde. Having always been interested in programming he focused on the development of research software, which brought him to Riverlane, where software development meets cutting edge research in quantum computing. In his spare time Anton enjoys playing sports and exploring the world.
Joan Camps Senior Quantum Scientist
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Joan is a Theoretical Physicist working on quantum algorithms. Prior to joining Riverlane he held research associate positions at three research-intensive UK universities, where he investigated the interplay between quantum gravity, field theory, and quantum information science. His contributions to this field include solving a 20 year-old problem on black hole entropy, and discovering a local version of the holographic principle for quantum gravity.

Joan is passionate about delivering the promise of quantum technologies to help solve some of the most urgent challenges humanity faces — and in the process get a deeper insight about the nature of reality.
Nick Chen Principal Product Manager
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As a product manager, Nicholas bridges technology to customer needs and business goals. Nicholas was previously a hardware researcher and product manager at Microsoft where he refined customer experiences and forged partnerships to turn research into product. Nicholas completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Maryland and B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. His interests outside of work include Design and Computer Science Education.
Laura Caune Quantum Scientist
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Laura completed an MSc in Computing Science at Imperial College London. She also has a BSc in Mathematics from University of Bath, where she developed an interest in pure mathematics. In her free time Laura enjoys reading and doing yoga.
Ieva Cepaite Phd intern
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Ieva completed her integrated Masters at the University of Edinburgh where she worked on measurement-based quantum encryption protocols as well as quantum machine learning in the continuous variable quantum computing model. She is currently undertaking her PhD at Strathclyde University in the Quantum Optics and Quantum Many-Body Physics group led by Prof. Andrew Daley. Her work revolves around ideas of quantum optimal control and shortcuts to adiabaticity.

In her spare time, she enjoys climbing hills, playing the piano and learning a bit about Category Theory.
Ophelia Crawford Senior Quantum Scientist
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Ophelia completed a PhD in computational and theoretical geophysics at the University of Cambridge, applying PDE-constrained optimisation to post-glacial sea level change. For this work, she was awarded a best paper prize from Geophysical Journal International and a best thesis prize from the Royal Astronomical Society. She joined Riverlane in 2018 and, since then, has worked on understanding and developing algorithms for quantum computers.
Recent posts by Ophelia Crawford

Technology 21 Jan, 2021

Riverlane paper published in Quantum journal
James Cruise Principal Quantum Scientist
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James is a mathematician who works on the application of statistical and probabilistic techniques to real world systems. These include internet traffic modelling, social networks and most recently power systems. James completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge and has since held research positions at Bristol University and Heriot Watt University. Outside of work he enjoys playing board games and developing his skills as a weaver.
Aniket Datta FPGA Design Engineer
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Aniket holds a Master’s degree in electrical engineering, and is an experienced FPGA and embedded systems engineer. Prior to Riverlane, he has worked for 7 years at a multinational company specialising in 5G communication at various capacities. Aniket was the lead engineer to develop an intricate solution with multiple FPGAs interacting with each other in real time, to accelerate industrial testing of devices.

Outside of work, Aniket enjoys travelling, long distance motorcycle rides and gaming.
Aneeta Devi Talent Acquisition Specialist
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Aneeta is responsible for identifying talented individuals and building the Riverlane team. She is a graduate from the University of Buckinghamshire with a BSc (Hons) in Business Information Technology and over 10 years’ experience as a Talent Acquisition Specialist. Aneeta is passionate about learning and has studied Mental Health Awareness, alongside training for her CIPD in Human Resources Management. Outside of work, Aneeta enjoys spending time with family and, in particular, spoiling her nieces, yoga, running, reading, cooking, meditation and spending time with nature.
Richard Durham Senior Delivery Manager
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Richard in a Senior Delivery Manager with over 15 years experience in Project & Program Management.

Pursuing a career in Software Engineering for 20+ years, Richard has worked for notable companies such as Symbian, Citrix, DisplayLink, and now Riverlane.

Richard is passionate about repeatable, predictable, and sustainable delivery of value.
Amy Flower Communications Associate
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Amy achieved a first class honours degree in English Language and Literature with the Open University, and has several years of experience in events and community management within the Cambridge start-up world. She joined Riverlane in 2018, initially in an assistant role before being promoted to Communications Associate, where she manages external communications across all channels.

Amy loves a challenge and has a passion for creating engaging and accessible content for a range of audiences.
Recent posts by Amy Flower

In the press 22 Sep, 2021

Riverlane featured in The Telegraph

Team 11 Aug, 2021

Riverlane awarded the first contract to supply quantum software to the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre
Gabriel Gallardo Quantum Engineer
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Gabriel earned his D.Phil. in particle physics from the University of Oxford, where he worked as part of the ATLAS Experiment at CERN to develop data-taking methods and to search for new physics. Currently, he’s having fun designing and building Riverlane’s new operating system for quantum computers.
George Geher Senior Quantum Scientist
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George is a pure mathematician who enjoys solving problems related to quantum mechanics, with his main expertise in operator theory. He completed his PhD in 2015 at the University of Szeged, Hungary, before accepting a postdoctoral position in Reading, UK in 2016. Following that, George soon obtained his own Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship.

Outside of work he enjoys reading science fiction, walking and hiking, and exercising.
Neil Gillespie Senior Quantum Scientist
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Neil is a mathematician who is interested in applying the ideas and techniques from pure mathematics to real world scenarios. Most recently this has involved looking at packing problems in Euclidean space and their connection to physics. Neil completed his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Western Australia in 2011. After a post-doctoral position in Australia, he returned to the UK to join the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research as a research fellow, based at the University of Bristol. Outside of work Neil loves music, swimming, cycling and spending many, many hours playing monsters with his son.
Recent posts by Neil Gillespie

Team 22 Mar, 2021

Quantum computing explained
Gianmarco Girau Senior Embedded Systems Manager
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Gianmarco holds a PhD in Electronic and Communication Engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin. He has 15 years’ experience as an FPGA and Embedded Systems designer. Before joining Riverlane, he spent five years designing embedded logic for industrial manufacturing systems. Prior to that, he was a lead engineer on the development of the prototype for the current generation of deep-space modems at the European Space Agency’s ground stations.

Outside of work, he is a voracious reader and a lifelong learner on a wide range of subjects.
Tom Hartley Product Designer
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Tom has a masters in Innovation Design Engineering from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London, where he explored the design of systems for a more sustainable future. As product designer at Riverlane, he crafts intuitive interactions, interfaces and processes that help customers get the most out of Riverlane’s software. His design work is informed by his undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering, and he enjoys blending the two to tackle complex problems.

In his spare time, if he’s not tinkering with his bike you’re likely to find him hiking up a mountain.
Nicole Holzmann Manager, Quantum Science
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Nicole has a PhD in theoretical chemistry and has worked in different areas of computational chemistry from analyses of interactions in small complexes, photo excitation in anti-cancer drugs to mechanisms in large membrane protein systems. She has made a significant contribution to the elucidation of the boron-boron triple bond in dimeric complexes and her work was published in Nature, Science and in various high-impact chemistry journals. Nicole is passionate about bringing chemistry to quantum computers. She is a two-time martial arts world champion in Canne de Combat (French Cane) and enjoys playing all kinds of sports and games in her spare time.
Andrea Husseiniova Associate Product Manager
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Andrea has a Masters degree in theoretical physics from the University of Edinburgh, where she explored quantum computing and worked on theoretical and computational cosmology projects. She has previously interned at Riverlane, working on randomised benchmarking algorithms, and has experience with UX/UI through various summer projects. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, baking, and creating new nail art designs.
Aleksei Ivanov Quantum Scientist
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Aleksei is a computational material scientist whose main interests lie in the fields of electronic structure theory and magnetism. Having grown up on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East of Russia, he relocated to St Petersburg to study theoretical physics, and then to Reykjavik to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Iceland. His PhD studies provided him with a strong background in the development of advanced methods in quantum chemistry and physics which he looks forward to applying to his work at Riverlane.

In his spare time, Aleksei enjoys hiking, playing guitar and watching ice hockey.
Róbert Izsák Senior Quantum Scientist (Chemistry)
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Robert obtained his PhD in Theoretical Chemistry from Cardiff University in 2010. Since then, he has worked with several groups involved in the development of efficient and accurate quantum chemical methods. For six years, he also led the work of a small group interested in the excited state properties of large molecules, including the computational design of photoactive molecules. Outside work, he is an avid reader of history books and likes listening to podcasts.
Kauser Johar Principal Engineer
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Kauser is an engineer with over 12 years’ experience in computer architecture, hardware design and development of high performance microprocessors.

Kauser achieved their Masters in Microelectronics at University of Liverpool, and pursued a career in Arm, where they recently led the development of automotive line of CPUs. Notably, Kauser helped in the development of a CPU at Arm that was used in the Mars Exploration Rovers.

Kauser has a passion for sports, especially cricket and enjoys playing chess.
Joonas Majaniemi Research Software Developer
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Joonas is a scientist and software developer with a master’s degree in Theoretical Physics from Lancaster University. Specialising in numerical modelling and open quantum systems, Joonas is passionate about the real-world applications of quantum information theory. Joonas previously worked for Quantum Base Ltd, where he developed software and algorithms for secure authentication. Collaborating with the Quantum Nanotechnology Group at Lancaster University, his research has featured in a peer-reviewed journal. In his free time, Joonas enjoys hiking, photography and foraging wild mushrooms.
Maria Maragkou Senior Business Development Manager
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Maria is responsible for identifying business development opportunities and building customer relationships for Riverlane. An electrical and computer engineer by training, Maria worked on quantum optics as a PhD student at the University of Southampton. She was a post-doctoral researcher in Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and École Normale Supérieure in Paris. She then worked for many years in science publishing as a Senior Editor at Nature Materials, where she was responsible for the areas of optics, physics and quantum technologies. She is currently pursuing an MBA from Kedge business school, focusing on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Outside of work, she swims, works on her headstand and analyses data for her MBA thesis.
Luigi Martiradonna Business Development Manager
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Gigi is an electronic engineer by training, with over 14 years’ experience in research and scientific publishing in applied physics. He achieved his PhD in innovative materials and nanotechnologies at the University of Salento, Italy, and worked on the development of photonic and biomedical devices as a researcher in Italy and Japan. As a Senior Editor and Team Leader at Nature Materials, he was the point of contact for the scientific community working on applied physics, publishing cutting-edge research in areas such as photovoltaics, electronics and neuromorphic systems. He is eager to bring quantum computing into blossom, fostering relationships with partners and clients equally passionate in this technology. Outside of work, he likes travels, long walks, good books and playing piano.
Adam Melvin Embedded Software Engineer
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Adam completed an MEng in Electronic Engineering at University of Southampton in 2019, focusing on control systems, IC design, and computer vision. He currently specialises in embedded software and embedded Linux architecture, with particular focus on Linux distribution management with the Yocto Project.

In his spare time he enjoys gaming, studying Japanese, and playing piano and bassoon.
Rojalin Mishra Senior Hardware Verification Engineer
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Rojalin has a BSc in electronics and communication engineering. She is a seasoned verification engineer with eight years’ experience in verifying complex Systems-on-a-Chip and Integrated Circuits. Her expertise includes developing and implementing verification strategies. In her free time, Rojalin enjoys reading, swimming and cooking.
Alex Moylett Quantum Scientist
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Alex is a Computer Scientist working on understanding the costs of quantum algorithms for real-world problems. Prior to working at Riverlane they completed a PhD in Physics at the University of Bristol’s Quantum Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training, where they investigated the practical imperfections that photonic quantum computers face. A keen science communicator, Alex has presented their work to a wide variety of audiences, including school children, academic & industry representatives, and Members of UK Parliament. In their free time Alex enjoys exploring the great outdoors and playing the ukulele.
Caroline Parsons Project Manager
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Caroline has worked for many years in technology companies around Cambridge, starting with wireless local loop telephony in the mid-1990s and more recently in display connectivity. She also has experience in branding and previously worked in London in the design industry. She enjoys joining organisations in their early years and being part of their growth.

Outside of work, Caroline enjoys spending time with her family. Other interests include music, gardening and travel.
Armanda Quintavalle PhD intern
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Armanda is a mathematician who joined the applied maths side with an MSc in (classical) Coding Theory and Cryptography. She is currently undertaking a PhD in Physics at the University of Sheffield, where she works on error correction and fault tolerance. Outside of science, Armanda enjoys accomplishing nonsense heroic deeds with her Vespa, stopping here and there for a hike or a beer.
Brendan Reid Quantum Scientist
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Brendan received his PhD in Quantum Information Theory from Queen’s University Belfast in 2018 where he focused on ultracold atomic dynamics and quantum thermodynamics with the application of quantum technologies in mind. With an interest in quantum computing, he completed a one year postdoctoral position at the University of Southern California designing algorithms to be implemented on the D-Wave 2X quantum annealer. Outside of work Brendan enjoys reading, exercising and exploring the local bars and restaurants.
Lisa Roberts People Advisor
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Lisa is a graduate from the University of Surrey with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. She has extensive experience as an Office, Facilities and Health & Safety Manager and has previously worked in the semiconductor and fintech industries. Throughout her roles Lisa gained experience in HR administration and recently moved to a full-time role as People Advisor. She is currently studying for a CIPD in Human Resource Management to deepen her knowledge. Outside work, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family and exploring new walks with her dog. She also loves quizzes, both participating in them and creating them.
Ben Rogers Quantum Engineer
Bio

Ben completed a PhD in Quantum Information Theory from Queen’s University Belfast, and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Vienna. During his PhD, Ben explored the optimal control of entanglement dynamics, entanglement characteristics close to quantum phase transitions, and non-demolition measurement and manipulation of atoms trapped in optical lattices. Ben enjoys reading, films, games, kayaking, martial arts, and walks with a pub at the end.
Matthew Ruszala Delivery Manager
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Matthew completed an EngD in Formulation Engineering at the University of Birmingham where he developed novel particles to be used as functional fillers withing the decorative paints industry. Since then, Matthew has worked as both a Scientist and Project Manager developing laboratory analytical instruments and the bespoke design and installation of x-ray machines.

In his spare time, Matthew enjoys being outdoors, travelling, and cooking.
Luka Skoric Quantum Engineer
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Luka studied Mathematics and Physics at the University of Cambridge, where he completed a PhD in Physics. He worked on computational and experimental projects in 3D nanofabrication and nanomagnetism, with interest in research software and novel computation methods. In his spare time, Luka plays basketball and enjoys sports and outdoor activities.
Jan Snoeijs FPGA and Embedded System Designer
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Jan holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from EPFL in Switzerland with a focus on digital micro-electronics systems. He explored the integration of deep learning methods on SoC-FPGA platforms for epileptic seizure prediction. Jan previously worked as a consultant for software development in the identification and IT security sector. In his spare time he enjoys playing and watching sports, music and going out with friends.
Naomi Solomons PhD Intern
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Naomi is a physicist, currently studying in the Quantum Engineering CDT at the University of Bristol, where she is completing a PhD in Gaussian Boson Sampling under the supervision of Dr Dara McCutcheon. While at Riverlane, she is working on measurement based quantum computation. She is passionate about science outreach, and equality, diversity and inclusion, having recently been awarded the Physics department Equality and Diversity prize. She was also an organiser of this year’s Quantum In The Summer school. In her free time she plays flute and sings in choirs.
Robin Sterling Senior Product Manager
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Robin is a physicist and engineer with over 15 years of experience in quantum computing and embedded systems. Robin achieved his PhD in ion trap quantum computing at the University of Sussex. After leaving academia he pursued a career in embedded electronics where he designed high volume consumer products. Notably, as a PhD student Robin designed and operated the first 2D microfabricated ion trap lattice, then later patented a new resonant circuit for wearable RFID sensors. Robin has a passion for developing new products that sell themselves.
Christoph Sunderhauf Quantum Scientist
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Christoph is a theoretical physicist who studied in Heidelberg, London, St. Louis, and Munich. During his doctorate at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics, he mainly focused on chaos in many-body quantum systems. His scientific achievements comprise several publications, including a PRL and an Editors’ Suggestion in PRB, as well as a number of conference presentations.

Apart from research, Christoph is as passionate about communicating science as he is about skiing and hiking.
Anthony Tabor General Counsel
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Anthony supports us on legal matters, leading the structuring and negotiation of Riverlane’s commercial relationships.

Anthony has over 30 years’ experience gained in legal and commercial roles in the UK and internationally. He has worked for large firms such as Allen & Overy, Vodafone and Cisco as well as successful tech. start-ups, most notably, Ubiquisys Limited, where he helped to oversee a successful sale of the company to Cisco Systems in 2013. Anthony brings an entrepreneurial approach and is passionate about working in high performing teams to build company value for all stakeholders.

Anthony holds a degree in law from Oxford University and an MBA from London Business School. He is obsessed by golf as well as being a keen fly fisherman, hill walker and armchair cricket fan (his playing days, sadly being behind him).
Dan Underwood Senior Quantum Engineer
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Dan is a scientist and engineer with over 10 years experience in developing software solutions in both academia and industry. He achieved a PhD in Physics from University College London, where he developed high-performance computational chemistry methods to investigate the properties of atmospheric molecules, and worked alongside leading scientists in the field of exoplanetary characterisation.

He has also spent a number of years in industry roles gaining exposure to a wide variety of software tools and best practices, everywhere from low-level hardware control to scalable web technologies.

Dan has a passion for getting stuck into problems at a deep level to come up with creative solutions. Outside of work he enjoys reading, music, keeping fit and exploring the outdoors.
Alise Virbule Product Manager
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Alise has a PhD in Theory and Simulation of Materials from Imperial College London, where she modelled excitons in conjugated polymers and small molecules. During her time in academia she also took an active role in science communication and outreach activities. Alise joined the commercial tech world by working as a data analyst and later a product manager at an insuretech startup. In her free time she enjoys choral singing, reading books and going on walks.
Carlo Volpi Senior Programme Manager
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Carlo has over 15 years’ experience innovating how displays are connected to the devices we use every day. Once a software developer, he has worked across software, hardware and integrated circuits. Carlo enjoys bringing new products to market as product owner and program manager. Outside work, Carlo spends quality time with his family. He also dreams of having time to swim, cook and play games.
Mel Wheeler Executive Assistant
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Mel previously spent 4 years working as an executive assistant within the legal sector as well as volunteering for several environmental and animal welfare organisations. Mel holds a first-class honours degree in Criminology and is also currently studying part-time for a Master of Research degree in Criminology with a focus on environmental crime and the illegal wildlife trade. Mel lives in the Cambridgeshire countryside with her partner and rescue cat. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, painting and running an eco-living blog.

Board (5)

Amelia Armour Partner Amadeus Capital Partners
Bio

Amelia is a Principal in the Early Stage Fund at Amadeus Capital Partners with an investment focus of autonomous systems, AI and machine learning, cloud computing, digital health and medical technology.

As well as sitting on the board of Riverlane she is Director at other technology companies including Paragraf, delivering the capabilities of graphene to the real world; Immense Simulations, an intelligent mobility enabling software company andSLAMcore, a spin-out from Imperial College, developing spatial intelligence for autonomous robotics and drones.

Amelia holds a BSc in Chemistry and Biology from Durham University and is a mentor on the Judge Business School’s Accelerate Programme.
Stuart Chapman Managing Partner and Founder Draper Esprit
Bio

Stuart was a Director of 3i Ventures in London before he co-founded Draper Esprit. He has over 25 years of venture capital experience in Europe and the US – including founding 3i US in Menlo Park, CA. Stuart was responsible for Esprit’s investments in Lagan Technology (sold to Verint), Redkite (sold to Nice) and Kiadis (sold to Sanofi). Stuart serves as a director with Netronome, Aircall, Resolver, Realeyes, Riverlane and Conversocial; and as observer with Graphcore and Crate.

Before 3i, Stuart was involved in software and systems implementations for Midland Bank. He is a graduate of Loughborough University and currently serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for the Loughborough School of Business.
Hermann Hauser Venture Partner Amadeus Capital Partners
Bio

In 2015 Hermann was awarded an KBE for services to Engineering and Industry.

Serial Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, Dr Hermann Hauser KBE has wide experience in developing and financing companies in the information technology sector. He co-founded a number of high-tech companies including Acorn Computers which spun out ARM, E-trade UK, Virata and Cambridge Network. Subsequently Hermann became vice president of research at Olivetti. During his tenure at Olivetti, he established a global network of research laboratories. Since leaving Olivetti, Hermann has founded over 20 technology companies. In 1997, he co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners. At Amadeus he invested in CSR, Solexa, Icera, Xmos and Cambridge Broadband.

Hermann is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the Royal Academy of Engineering, as well as an Honorary Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary CBE for ‘innovative service to the UK enterprise sector’. In 2004 he was made a member of the Government’s Council for Science and Technology and in 2013 he was made a Distinguished Fellow of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.

Hermann has honorary doctorates from the Universities of Loughborough, Bath, Anglia Ruskin, Strathclyde, Glasgow and York.
Dr Elaine Loukes Investment Director Cambridge Enterprise
Bio

Elaine is an Investment Director in the Seed Funds team, focusing on spin-out opportunities emerging from the physical sciences.

Since joining Cambridge Enterprise, she has spun-out nine new companies and worked on several follow-on funding rounds. She has held many director positions and currently sits on the boards of PervasID, Intellegens, Sorex, Xampla and CB2Tech as well as being an observer of AudioTelligence and Riverlane.

She has extensive experience in all stages of the investment process including due diligence, financial modelling, deal negotiation and investment management.

Elaine has worked in early-stage tech investing since 2001. At Dresdner Kleinwort Capital, she sourced new investment opportunities and managed the direct-investment portfolio for early-stage tech deals as well as leading on a £2bn fund of funds secondary sale. At PUK Ventures she focused on early-stage tech opportunities emerging from the public sector and UK universities.

Elaine has a BSc in Laser Physics and Optoelectronics (University of Strathclyde), a PhD in Physics (Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) in 2000.

Elaine Joined Cambridge Enterprise in December 2015.
Andrew Williamson Managing Partner Cambridge Innovation Capital
Bio

Andrew Williamson is the Managing Partner and specialises in technology investments.

He has hands on experience of building technology businesses, coupled with a venture investing background and an understanding of Cambridge and its academic institutes.

Prior to joining CIC, he was at True North Venture Partners in Chicago where he was a partner in its $300 million venture fund. Before this Andrew spent ten years leading materials science and semiconductor research in US government research laboratories, followed by managing director positions at venture capital funds Physic Ventures in San Francisco and MalibuIQ in Los Angeles.

Andrew studied at the University of Cambridge as both an undergraduate and a graduate, receiving an MA in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Physics. He also holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Andrew manages CIC’s investments in Audio Analytic, AudioTelligence, Imagen, Origami Energy, PervasID, PragmatIC, Prowler.io, Riverlane, Swim.ai and Undo.

Advisors (4)

Dan Browne Professor of Physics University College London (UCL)
Bio

Dan has over twenty years of experience in the development of quantum computing theory and leads a team at UCL. His research has spanned a range of topics, including architectures for quantum computing, such as measurement-based quantum computation, scalable approaches for quantum computing using photons of light and in fault-tolerant quantum computation to enable reliable quantum calculations even when the fragile quantum components are error-prone.

Dan began his research in quantum computing during a DAAD pre-doctoral Fellowship at LMU Munich in 2000/01. He gained his PhD from Imperial College in 2004, after which he became a Junior Research Fellow at Merton College, Oxford. Dan joined UCL as a lecturer in 2007 and was promoted to Professor in 2017.

Dan coordinates a European research network on quantum error correction, and has a research leadership role in the UK National Hub on Quantum Computing and Simulation. Dan was Director of the EPRSC Centre for Doctoral Training in Delivering Quantum Technologies from 2015 to 2019.
Sir Richard Catlow, FRS Foreign Secretary and Vice-President The Royal Society
Bio

Richard Catlow is developing and applying computer models to solid state and materials chemistry — areas of chemistry that investigate the synthesis, structure and properties of materials in the solid phase. By combining his powerful computational methods with experiments, Richard has made considerable contributions to areas as diverse as catalysis and mineralogy.

His approach has also advanced our understanding of how defects — missing or extra atoms — in the structure of solids can result in non-stoichiometric compounds. Such compounds have special electrical or chemical properties since their contributing elements are present in slightly different proportions to those predicted by chemical formula.

Richard’s work has offered insight into mechanisms of industrial catalysts, especially involving microporous materials and metal oxides. In structural chemistry and mineralogy. Simulation methods are now routinely used to predict the structures of complex solids and silicates, respectively, thanks to Richard’s demonstrations of their power.

Richard was elected Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society in 2016.
Steve Crossan Venture Partner Independent
Bio

At Deepmind, Steve led the Product team responsible for putting DeepMind’s technology into Google – from data centre optimization to Google Assistant, autonomous vehicles and protein folding. He joined DeepMind after almost ten years at Google working on the Google Maps, Gmail, and Google Search product teams.

As well as advising Riverlane, Steve is VP of AI at GSK and a Venture Partner at firstminute capital focusing on AI and Deep Tech. In 2011, during the Arab Spring, he launched speak2tweet to open access to social media when the internet was cut off in several countries. Before all this he left a Ph.D. in AI at Sussex unfinished to start a series of startups including Runtime Collective which later became brandwatch.com.
Noah Linden Professor of Theoretical Physics in the School of Mathematics University of Bristol
Bio

Noah has made major contributions to quantum information theory and quantum computation, including work on the foundations of quantum computation, quantum computational architectures, non-locality and entanglement. For example, he rigorously established the role of multi-partite entanglement as a resource for quantum computational speed-up; provided widely used tools for the study of quantum non-locality; and provided significant new insights into quantum mechanical features of thermodynamics.

He is currently Director of the Bristol Quantum Information Institute: the Institute is the umbrella organisation for all quantum information and technology activities in the University of Bristol, across the entire spectrum from theory, experiment and training to commercialisation.