London: US-based scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis were on Tuesday declared winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for the “discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”
“This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.
“Their superconducting electrical system could tunnel from one state to another, as if it were passing straight through a wall. They also showed that the system absorbed and emitted energy in doses of specific sizes, just as predicted by quantum mechanics,” the statement elaborated.
The Nobel Prize in Physics includes a prize sum totalling 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million), that is shared among the winners if there are more than one, as is often the case, reported Reuters.
KNOW THE WINNERS
John Clarke — Born in 1942 in Cambridge, UK. Was awarded PhD in 1968 from University of Cambridge, UK. Professor at University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Michel H Devoret — Born in 1953 in Paris. Was awarded PhD in 1982 from Paris-Sud University, France. Professor at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
John M Martinis — Born in 1958 in the US. Was awarded PhD in 1987 from University of California, Berkeley, USA. Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
The Nobel Prizes were established through the will of Alfred Nobel, who amassed a fortune after inventing dynamite. Physics was the first category mentioned in Nobel’s will.
