Three scientists, John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis, have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their groundbreaking work on macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantization in an electric circuit, as announced by the Nobel committee. This prestigious recognition is expected to advance the development of quantum technology, including applications in quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors.
Clarke conducted his research at the University of California-Berkeley, while Martinis worked at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and Devoret conducted research at Yale University and the University of California-Santa Barbara. Devoret and Martinis have also been associated with Google’s Quantum A.I. Lab in recent years.
Upon receiving the unexpected honor, Clarke, a native of England, expressed his surprise and gratitude, emphasizing the significant contributions of his collaborators, Devoret and Martinis, whom he described as brilliant individuals.
The trio’s experiments in the mid-1980s with a superconductor-based electronic circuit demonstrated that quantum mechanics could influence macroscopic objects under specific conditions, challenging traditional views of quantum behaviors limited to the atomic and sub-atomic levels.
Olle Eriksson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, highlighted the foundational role of quantum mechanics in digital technology, emphasizing its continuous evolution and practical implications for various technological advancements, including computer microchips.
The Nobel Prizes, which also recognize outstanding achievements in chemistry, literature, and peace, carry a prize amount of 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.6 million Cdn). The Nobel laureates will be presented with their awards on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to 229 recipients since 1901. In the previous year, British Canadian scientist Geoffrey Hinton from the University of Toronto and American scientist John Hopfield of Princeton University were honored for their contributions to machine learning within artificial neural networks.