Curtain Rises on the Year of Quantum
The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) is upon us, with an opening ceremony that wrapped up yesterday. The two-day event at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris brought together several hundred participants—including diplomats, scientists, entrepreneurs, and educators—in a celebration of what quantum physics has done and will do to change our world. The discussions included calls for making quantum science more inclusive and more sustainable through collaborations, outreach, and dialogue.
In June 2024, the United Nations proclaimed 2025 as the year of quantum, marking a wealth of quantum-physics breakthroughs that occurred in and around 1925 (see Special Feature: The Tumultuous Birth of Quantum Mechanics). But as Lidia Brito, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, said in her opening remarks, “This is not just a celebration of breakthroughs, it is a moment to shape the future. Let us seize this opportunity to create a legacy of cooperation, innovation, and inclusion so that the power of quantum science benefits all.”
The talks and panel sessions focused on three core subjects: science and technology prospects, ethical responsibilities, and scientific outreach. The first keynote speech was given by Nobel Laureate Anne L’Huillier from Sweden, who provided a historical account of the early development of quantum mechanics. She presented remarks from quantum pioneers Erwin Schrödinger and Werner Heisenberg, who both doubted that quantum behavior was directly observable in atoms and electrons. History proved them wrong, L’Huillier noted, as recent breakthrough experiments have manipulated single atoms and reconstructed electron wave functions. “Quantum mechanics during this last 100 years has been extremely successful,” she said. “And it’s just the beginning.”
Nobel Laureate Bill Phillips from the US outlined some of these quantum successes. Lasers, MRI, semiconductor technology, and GPS navigation were all made possible through an understanding of the quantum concepts of wave–particle duality and discrete energy levels, he said. These applications were part of the “first quantum revolution,” but a “second quantum revolution”—based on the counterintuitive ideas of superposition and entanglement—is still to come. “We haven’t been putting the weirdness to work yet,” Phillips said.
That weirdness will power quantum computing, cryptography, and sensing. In a panel session on the frontiers of quantum technology, Nobel Laureate Alain Aspect from France offered several examples of where quantum entanglement is already realizing its potential in sensing applications, such as medical imaging, gravity measurement, and atmospheric monitoring. The next round of innovations will include quantum cryptography and quantum computing, which Stephanie Simmons, founder and Chief Quantum Officer at Canada-based company Photonic, believes may be around the corner. “We are seeing major impacts and breakthroughs today that put the timescale for the commercialization of this technology much, much sooner than people imagine,” she said.
But these killer quantum apps may not be available to all people in the same way. Many discussions focused on “the quantum divide,” a concern that the developers of quantum technologies are currently concentrated in a small number of countries, which excludes the less wealthy countries of the Global South. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that quantum technologies—such as quantum cryptography—have security implications that may discourage the sharing of knowledge. Many presenters emphasized the need to keep the doors of research open so that users of quantum technologies may become creators. Prince Osei, director of Rwanda-based Quantum Leap Africa, highlighted the potential of Africa, which projections show will host a quarter of the world’s working-age population in 2050. He is working to bring experts from Europe and other countries to collaborate with African universities in hopes of creating a quantum-ready workforce.
One way to avoid disparities in quantum access is through efforts in education and outreach. During a roundtable on education and engagement, John Donohue, outreach manager from the University of Waterloo, Canada, admitted that explaining quantum physics is hard, but teachers have an advantage. “Students think that quantum is really cool,” he said. “They like exploring a topic that doesn’t feel like some dusty old thing. And quantum mechanics feels relatively new.” Elisa Torres Durney, a Chilean entrepreneur and STEM activist, agreed; when she was just 16 years old, she founded Girls in Quantum, a company that engages young people with the ideas of quantum science. “If we break down barriers and make quantum exciting, we can inspire a new generation of quantum pioneers from all backgrounds,” Durney said.
Inspiration can come from examples of how quantum science affects our lives. Yaseera Ismail from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, thinks the best example of a quantum device is the laser. “Lasers power everything from barcode scanners to the fiber-optic internet,” she said. Jacquiline Romero from the University of Queensland, Australia, spoke of her experience bringing small quantum science experiments to secluded communities. “Nothing beats that ‘wow’ of seeing a demonstration,” Romero said.
The meeting offered several demonstrations and hands-on activities that elicited “wows” from attendees. Robin Baumgarten from Germany presented his Quantum Jungle, an interactive art piece that lets users fiddle with a wave function on an illuminated board. In the goody bag given to all participants, there was a Quantum Kaleidoscope, a pocket-sized set of polarizers developed by Paul Cadden-Zimansky from Bard College in New York. And the meeting organizers introduced the mascot for IYQ, called Quinnie, designed by Jorge Cham, aka, PHD Comics, in collaboration with Physics Magazine (see Special Feature: Your Guide Through the Quantum World).
Mixed with all the enthusiasm over quantum science was some apprehension about hyping the potential. Donohue, for example, addressed unsupported claims that quantum computers could solve climate change. “We can’t be putting [quantum science] on that kind of pedestal,” he said. Others talked about the often long time that it can take to deliver useful products. Phillips mentioned a bet with a colleague over whether a quantum computer able to factor big numbers—a task crucial to breaking cryptography codes—will be available within 20 years. He’s wagering no, but he’s nevertheless very excited about the future. “I can be sure that something marvelous is going to happen.”
–Michael Schirber
Michael Schirber is a Corresponding Editor for Physics Magazine based in Lyon, France.