New Perspectives in Quantum Research: The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics honours three pioneers of quantum science: John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis. The three scientists receive the award for their groundbreaking work on macroscopic quantum effects. Their research demonstrates that the strange laws of quantum mechanics apply not only to the microscopic world but also to larger physical systems.
Professor Hendrik Bluhm, JARA-FIT scientist, head of the Quantum Technology Group at RWTH Aachen University and spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence Matter and Light for Quantum Computing (ML4Q), discusses what these discoveries mean for the future of quantum computing. His insights reveal how this research lays the foundation for novel quantum chips and powerful computing systems of tomorrow.
The full interview is available on the RWTH Aachen University website: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/wir/aktuell/pressemitteilungen/oktober-2025/~bqcbym/das-bedeutet-der-physik-nobelpreis-fuer/?lidx=1
Facts about the Nobel Prize in Physics
| Fact | Detail |
| First award | 1901 to Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (Germany) for the discovery of X-rays. |
| Youngest laureate | William Lawrence Bragg was only 25 years old when he received the prize in 1915. |
| Oldest laureate | Arthur Ashkin was 96 years old when he received the prize in 2018. |
| Multiple winner | John Bardeen is the only person to have received the prize twice (1956 and 1972). |
| Lowest proportion of women | With only 5 female laureates among 226 awardees, the Nobel Prize in Physics has the lowest proportion of women of all Nobel Prizes. |
| Married couple | Marie and Pierre Curie jointly received the prize in 1903 (Marie Curie later received the Chemistry Nobel Prize in 1911). |
| Shared Prize | The prize has been awarded to a single scientist 47 times, but is most often shared between two or three laureates. |