On the centenary of the birth of quantum mechanics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on the 7th that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to three quantum physicists—Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis—in recognition of their contributions to realizing macroscopic quantum tunneling effects and quantization of energy in circuits.
Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Elegren, announced the list of laureates and their main achievements in the Academy’s assembly hall. Quantum mechanics was born in 1925, making this year its hundredth anniversary.
The Nobel Committee for Physics stated that this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics makes possible the development of next-generation quantum technologies such as quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors.
Committee Chair Eriksson remarked that over the past century, quantum mechanics has continuously brought new surprises and has been highly useful, providing the foundation for digital technology.
Committee member Olsson told the media: “When we were reviewing, we were not aware that this year marks the centenary of quantum mechanics. It was only before the awarding that we realized this coincidence.”
She stated that this year’s award-winning achievements have opened a door, enabling people to study the world of quantum mechanics on a much larger scale.
According to the Nobel Prize official website, Clarke was born in 1942 in the United Kingdom and is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley; Devoret was born in 1953 in France and is a professor at Yale University and the University of California, Santa Barbara; Martinis was born in 1958 and is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The three laureates will share the prize of 11 million Swedish kronor (about 4.91 million ringgit) equally.