Two prominent physicists from UC Santa Barbara, John Martinis and Michel Devoret, have been recognized with the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. They received this prestigious honor for their groundbreaking research in quantum mechanics, specifically for their work on macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in electrical circuits.
Significance of the Nobel Prize
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences highlighted that their research has “revealed quantum physics in action.” This achievement marks a significant milestone in understanding quantum phenomena. The duo were joined by UC Berkeley physicist John Clarke, who also played a vital role in their research during Martinis’s PhD program.
Groundbreaking Research and Experiments
- Martinis and Devoret conducted pivotal experiments in 1984 and 1985.
- They built an electronic circuit composed of superconducting components, known as a Josephson junction.
- This setup allowed them to control and measure phenomena, revealing behaviors such as quantum tunneling.
- They demonstrated that energy in a quantum system is quantized, absorbing or emitting specific amounts of energy.
The impact of their findings has had far-reaching implications for modern technologies, including cellphones, LED lighting, and data storage devices. Their work is foundational to advancements in various fields, notably in cryptography and quantum computing.
Acclaim from the Academic Community
UCSB Chancellor Dennis Assanis expressed immense pride in the achievements of Martinis and Devoret. He emphasized that their innovative research in the 1980s has had a profound impact on today’s technology. Assanis noted the transformative influence of superconducting circuits on communication, computing, and sensing technologies.
Career Highlights
- John Martinis received his PhD in 1987 from UC Berkeley and joined UC Santa Barbara in 2004.
- In 2014, he was part of Google Quantum AI, contributing to a 53-qubit system that tackled complex problems unattainable for classical computers.
- Martinis left Google in 2020 to work with an Australian startup, Silicon Quantum Computing, and co-founded another quantum computing company, Qolab.
- Michel Devoret earned his doctorate in condensed matter physics from the University of Paris, Orsay, in 1982.
- He worked as a postdoc in John Clarke’s lab and later led the Quantronics Group at CEA-Saclay in France.
- Devoret was a professor of applied physics at Yale University before joining UC Santa Barbara’s faculty.
This year’s Nobel Prize celebrates not just individual accomplishments but also the collaborative spirit that propels scientific discovery. Martinis and Devoret’s contributions continue to influence the landscape of quantum physics and its applications in technology.
