Three U.S.-based scientists, John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis, have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering experiments that demonstrated “quantum physics in action,” laying the foundation for the next generation of digital and quantum technologies.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award on Tuesday, recognizing the trio’s groundbreaking work from the mid-1980s that revealed how quantum mechanics can influence electronic circuits made from superconductors, systems far larger than atoms or subatomic particles, where quantum effects were once thought impossible.
“It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises,” said Olle Eriksson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. “It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology.”
Speaking by phone during the Nobel press conference, Clarke, a British-born professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said he was “completely stunned” by the honor. “I’m speaking on my cell phone and I suspect that you are too, and one of the underlying reasons that the cell phone works is because of all this work,” he said.
The Academy noted that the laureates’ experiments have paved the way for advancements in quantum computing, cryptography, and sensing technologies.
Quantum computers, for instance, use the principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations that would take conventional computers millions of years, offering potential breakthroughs in areas such as climate modeling, materials science, and medical research.
Devoret, a French-born professor at Yale University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, also serves as chief scientist at Google Quantum AI.
Martinis, an American physicist and fellow professor at UC Santa Barbara, formerly led Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, where his team achieved “quantum supremacy” in 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Devoret on X, praising his “extraordinary contribution to science.”
The Nobel Committee observed that this is the second consecutive year researchers with Google affiliations have received a Nobel Prize.
In 2024, Google DeepMind scientists Demis Hassabis and John Jumper won the chemistry prize, while Geoffrey Hinton, a longtime Google researcher, shared the physics award.
The Nobel Prize in Physics includes a total award of 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million), shared among the winners. It is the second Nobel Prize announced this week, following Monday’s medicine award to two American and one Japanese scientist for discoveries in immunology.
The chemistry prize will follow on Wednesday, while the peace prize will be announced Friday in Oslo.
The laureates will receive their medals and diplomas from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, followed by the traditional Nobel banquet at Stockholm City Hall.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
