Join the Institute of Physics and partners for a landmark series of events during the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
(IOP is an IYQ sponsor.)
It’s been 100 years since quantum mechanics flipped our understanding of the universe on its head. Once a strange new theory, it has become the foundation of technologies we use every day—from lasers to GPS to the next wave of quantum computers.
This November, the Institute of Physics (IOP) is leading celebrations across the UK and Ireland with UK Quantum Week (3–7 November 2025)—a week of events showcasing how far quantum science has come and where it’s headed next.
“The quantum revolution is changing our world—from breakthroughs in health care and climate solutions to smarter finance, communications, and computing. During this special week, join world-leading researchers, companies, and science communicators as they explore the real-world impact of quantum technology. It’s your chance to dive into one of the most extraordinary frontiers in science. The International Year of Quantum is your year—be part of it.” — Sir Peter Knight, Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator, Imperial College London
Celebrate Quantum Week
Monday, November 3 – National Physical Laboratory Quantum Metrology: From Foundations to the Future Discover how precision measurement—a cornerstone of quantum science—drives innovation in timekeeping, navigation, and fundamental physics.
Tuesday, November 4 – Royal Institution, London Quantum Science and Technology: The First 100 Years A deep dive into the breakthroughs that gave birth to quantum mechanics, organised by the IOP’s History of Physics Group. From Heisenberg to Bell, explore how radical ideas went from chalkboards to real-world technology.
Wednesday, November 5 – Royal Institution, London Quantum Science and Technology: Our Quantum Future Hosted by the IOP’s Quantum Business Innovation and Growth Group, this day brings together science, industry, and policy to chart the future of quantum computing, sensing, and communication.
Wednesday, November 5 – UKQuantum Business Reception A networking evening connecting startups, investors, and policymakers—reflecting the UK’s growing role in the global quantum economy.
Friday 7 November – Multiple Venues
Quantum Schools Celebration (IOP): Highlighting how quantum science is inspiring young learners across the UK and Ireland.
UK National Quantum Technologies Showcase (Innovate UK): The UK’s flagship industry event, featuring the latest developments from universities, companies, and national programmes.
Prof. Jim Al-Khalili – A New Quantum World (Royal Institution Lecture): A public lecture co-hosted by the IOP and Royal Institution, exploring how “spooky” quantum phenomena are turning into real-world technologies.
“I’ve spent my entire adult life studying, thinking about, and applying quantum mechanics, so being part of a global celebration of what is arguably the most powerful and important theory in all of science is truly inspiring. Yes, the quantum world can seem strange—often defying common sense—but that’s exactly why I love it, and why I want to share my fascination with the world.” — Prof. Jim Al-Khalili, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Surrey
A Celebration With Purpose
These events are more than commemorations—they’re part of a global effort led by the IOP to make quantum science accessible, exciting, and inclusive.
Through public engagement, business partnerships, education, and international collaboration, IYQ 2025 aims to build momentum that will carry far beyond this landmark year.
How to Attend
Whether you’re a researcher, student, teacher, entrepreneur, or simply quantum-curious, you’re invited to take part.
The quest to understand the fundamental nature of light has sparked debate for centuries and ultimately played a pivotal role in the development of quantum physics. Even the earliest recorded speculations about light contained the seeds of concepts that would, centuries later, be woven into our quantum understanding of reality.
Ancient and Medieval Foundations of Optics (6th Century BCE – 11th Century CE)
Some of the earliest recorded ideas about the nature of light appeared in the 6th century BCE. In India, for instance, the Vaisheshika school of philosophy described light as consisting of fire-like particles moving at a high speed.
In ancient Greece, the Pythagoreans (6th–5th century BCE) and later Euclid (c. 300 BCE) advocated the emission theory of vision, suggesting that rays of light emanate from the eyes toward objects. In contrast, Epicurus (341–270 BCE) proposed an intromission theory, arguing that light consists of material images or “eidola” emitted by objects that travel to the eyes.
Further insights into the nature of light emerged in Egypt, where Ptolemy (c. AD 90–168), working in Alexandria, conducted experiments showing that light reflects off smooth surfaces and bends when passing through transparent materials of different optical densities.
Building on these concepts, Arab scholars made significant contributions to the understanding of light by establishing foundational principles governing its behavior in lenses, mirrors, and prisms. The most influential among them was the 11th-century scholar Ibn al-Haytham, who lived in present-day Iraq. Ibn al-Haytham corrected the emission theory, stating that vision results from light entering the eye rather than emanating from it.
European Wave vs. Particle Debate (17th Century CE)
By the 17th century, European scientists were divided between two competing theories about the fundamental nature of light: whether it behaved as a wave or as a particle. Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens argued that light propagates as waves according to his wave-front principle, which explains how waves evolve when they encounter obstacles. In contrast, Isaac Newton proposed a corpuscular theory, suggesting that light consists of particles traveling in straight paths, capable of reflecting off surfaces like mirrors. Newton’s prism experiments, which showed white light splitting into colors with distinct refraction angles, supported his corpuscular theory by suggesting that light consists of particles of different sizes, each corresponding to a different color, which bend by different amounts.
Both theories, however, were incomplete. Huygens’ wave theory struggled to fully explain why light travels in a straight path, and Newton’s particle theory couldn’t account for diffraction, the spreading of light as it passes around edges or through narrow openings. Nevertheless, Newton’s theory gained significant influence not only because of his clever prism experiments, but also because he was highly revered in the scientific community, making his ideas difficult to challenge for years.
Wave theory prevails (1801 – 1888)
But science doesn’t bow to reputation. As Richard Feynman famously pointed out in his 1964 Messenger Lectures at Cornell University, “It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with the experiment, it’s wrong.” Indeed, nearly a century after Newton’s corpuscular theory of 1704, the scientific consensus gradually shifted toward the wave theory of light through decades of experiments, modeling, and debates. One of the key contributors to this shift was Thomas Young, an English polymath. In 1801, Young passed sunlight through a narrow slit to produce a coherent light beam. He then placed a thin obstacle, such as a hair or a narrow strip, across the beam, splitting it into two waves that spread out and overlapped. When these waves recombined on a screen, they produced a pattern of bright and dark bands (see Figure 1.1). This interference pattern provided clear and compelling evidence that light behaves as a wave rather than as a particle.
Figure 1.1: Simulation of the interference pattern produced when light traveling from left to right passes through a double slit. Illustration by Serena Krejci-Papa.
A familiar example of this phenomenon is when waves on the surface of water either combine to form larger peaks or cancel each other out. Later, in 1845, another English physicist Michael Faraday showed that magnetic fields could alter the polarization plane of light, revealing a connection between light and electromagnetism. In the 1860s, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell built on this connection by formulating the theory of electromagnetism, describing light as an electromagnetic wave composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields at right angles to each other and to the wave’s direction of travel. Heinrich Hertz’s experimental confirmation of Maxwell’s predictions in the 1880s provided further validation of the electromagnetic wave theory of light.
Resurgence of particle theory (1900 – 1923)
By the 1890s, Maxwell’s mathematical description of electromagnetic waves was considered so successful, particularly for its predictive power, that many physicists believed the fundamental nature of light was fully understood. But in the early 20th century, experimental discoveries began to challenge this consensus. The electromagnetic wave theory failed to predict how matter emits and absorbs radiation at thermal equilibrium. To address this question, German physicist Max Planck introduced a revolutionary idea known as energy quantization. He proposed that electromagnetic radiation is emitted or absorbed in discrete amounts, now called quanta, with higher frequency light corresponding to larger quanta. His theory accurately matched experimental results and earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Illustration by Serena Krejci-Papa.
Another major blow to the wave theory of light came from the photoelectric effect, first observed by Heinrich Hertz in 1887, when ultraviolet light caused electric charge to be emitted from a metal surface (see Figure 1.2). By 1900, Philipp Lenard conducted detailed experiments to show that the energy of ejected electrons depended on light frequency, not intensity, an observation that classical wave theory struggled to explain. In 1905, Albert Einstein addressed this by proposing that light is made of discrete energy packets, now called photons, each carrying an energy proportional to its frequency according to Planck’s quantization rule. This idea successfully explained the photoelectric effect and was later confirmed by Robert Millikan’s experiments in 1915, which verified that the energy of the ejected electrons depends on light frequency and that intensity affects only the number of ejected electrons. Einstein’s explanation earned him the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. The existence of the photon was further reinforced in 1923 by American physicist Arthur Compton, who showed that X-rays scatter off electrons and emerge with smaller frequencies (see Figure 1.2).
Illustration by Serena Krejci-Papa.
Wave-Particle Duality (1924 – present)
The photoelectric effect showed that light interacts with matter through discrete, fundamental processes, behaving as if it were made up of particles known as photons. On the other hand, Young’s double-slit experiment provided convincing evidence that light also exhibits wave-like behavior through interference. These seemingly contradictory findings reveal the dual nature of light, a concept known as wave-particle duality. Today, this principle is central to quantum physics, which describes light as a quantum electromagnetic field. This field has discrete energy excitations called photons that can produce particle-like effects, while also exhibiting wave-like behavior depending on how light interacts with its environment.
References
1. Hewitt, P. G. (2015). Conceptual physics (12th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
2. Cohen-Tannoudji, C., Diu, B., & Laloë, F. (1977). Quantum mechanics: Volume I (S. R. Hemley, N. Ostrowsky, & D. Ostrowsky, Trans.). Wiley-Interscience/Hermann.
3. Rooney, A. (2011). The story of physics: From natural philosophy to the enigma of dark matter. Arcturus Publishing Limited.
4. William Harris & Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D. “How Light Works” 1 January 1970. HowStuffWorks.com. <https://science.howstuffworks.com/light.htm> 7 July 2025
Written by Richard Sottie, a graduate student in the Physics & Astronomy program at Ohio University, specializing in computational physics with a focus on plasmonics.
Illustration created by Serena Krejci-Papa, a first-year master’s student at the University of Barcelona studying theoretical and computational chemistry with the Erasmus Mundus program. She writes about complex science topics in a way that makes people laugh. You can find more about her at Sciencewithserena.com.
Science Gallery London’s New Exhibition, Quantum Untangled, Explores the Power Quantum Possesses to Transform our Futures
London, September 8, 2025. To mark the International Year of Quantum Science, Quantum Untangled(8 October 2025–28 February 2026), a new free season at Science Gallery London (part of King’s College London), will fuse art, science, and extraordinary research together to reveal the power quantum science possesses to transform our futures.
Through interactive artworks, immersive sculptural installations, and the words of physicists, philosophers, and poets, Quantum Untangled will consider big quantum questions and explore the magnitude of quantum-driven opportunities.
Conrad Shawcross with Ringdown- 2024. Photo by Richard Ivey.
The Exhibits
The exhibits in Quantum Untangled include two large-scale sculptures commissioned by ARTlab Nottingham from Conrad Shawcross RA (Ringdown and The Blind Proliferation), alongside other sculptural installations by Alistair McClymont, Monica C. LoCascio & Daniela Brill Estrada, and Matthew Woodham.*
Quantum Untangled also includes Robin Baumgarten’s playful installation Quantum Jungle, poetry from Studio Quantum’s artist in residence Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan, photography by David Severn, and films developed with the King’s Quantum community.*
Robin Baumgarten’s Quantum Jungle – credit Ida Hoyrup- Exploratorium SF.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a programme of free events, including Friday Lates and a panel discussion, in collaboration with King’s College London’s Digital Futures Institute.
Beatrice Pembroke, Director of King’s Culture and Science Gallery, London, said:
“Quantum science is reshaping the foundations of our world, yet its concepts—particles in two places at once, instant connection across space—can feel counterintuitive and difficult to grasp. These ideas challenge the ways we think about reality itself. That’s where art becomes essential.
Our free public exhibition and events programme, Quantum Untangled, helps translate the invisible into the imaginable and reveals not just how quantum works but why it matters. It invites everyone into the wonder of quantum—not just to understand it but to experience it.”
Dr James Millen, Director of King’s Quantum and Quantum Untangled Lead Advisor, King’s College London, said:
“Quantum not only explains the world, but through quantum we can change the world. Quantum has the power to unlock solutions to global challenges such as net zero, climate forecasting, drug discovery, autonomous vehicles, and the development of new materials for a wide range of purposes.
Because the impact of quantum technologies on all of our lives will be so huge, it’s essential for scientists to be in dialogue with the public. Quantum Untangled will help to convey the beauty of quantum science through an artistic language that speaks to all of us.”
IYQ _The Blind Proliferation by Conrad Shawcross – side view – credit University of Nottingham- photo by Nick Dunmur.
King’s Quantum
Quantum Untangled at Science Gallery London marks the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology (IYQ), a year-long global initiative celebrating 100 years of quantum mechanics.
King’s College London has played a pivotal role in the history of quantum research. Professor Charles Coulson (Chair of Theoretical Physics at King’s College London from 1947 to 1952) was one of the pioneers in the application of quantum mechanics to understand how atoms bond together to form molecules.
Fast forward to the 21st Century, King’s has its own dedicated quantum research centre, bringing together scientists from across different sciences to shape the future of technology for the next 100 years and beyond.
King’s Quantum is driving this complex area of science—guided by the UK government’s National Quantum Strategy. The centre’s research spans many areas of science, from black holes to quantum computers and quantum-powered healthcare.
Quantum Untangled and Cosmic Titans
Quantum Untangled is an adaptation of Cosmic Titans: Art, Science and the Quantum Universe, a touring exhibition from Lakeside Arts and ARTlab, University of Nottingham.
Featured Image: Quantum Untangled at Science Gallery London (illustrated image).
By now, we all have a pretty good idea of how AI works: you write a prompt in plain English, deliver it to a chatbot, and then out pops a piece of writing, an image, or code. Pretty neat, right?
Now imagine if there was something like that for real things. Imagine you wanted to create a new medicine for sore muscles or a new material for car tires, and all you had to do was push a button to get it. You need a new medicine molecule? Poof! You’ve got it.
It might sound totally sci-fi now, but we’re actually closer than you might think. Quantum chemistry is already being used to help chemists discover and create new molecules using quantum principles and computers instead of traditional laboratory techniques. While the push of a button might be off— speeding up the process certainly isn’t!
How does quantum help chemistry?
Okay, let’s say we are a chemist looking to create a phone battery that doesn’t die in the early afternoon. We’ll need a new material for that, so the process of finding one will typically go like this: identify a few possible molecules, try to synthesize them in the lab, test the results to see if they work, and repeat the process when they don’t. After many experiments, tears, and years, we’ll have a new material.
Sounds tiring? It is. It’s also why molecular discovery and design can take up to 20 years from lab to market.
Using quantum principles for molecular discovery offers chemists an alternative: Instead of starting with that tedious trial-and-error process, chemists can seek to understand molecular behavior at the quantum level before even stepping foot into the lab.
Take our phone battery, for example—this really happened. Scientists wanted to make a new material for phone batteries to use less lithium and used quantum principles to speed up the process of finding a new material for it. A high-powered computer simulated the 32 million possible options, a machine-learning model sorted and narrowed it down to 500,000, and a quantum chemistry method called Density Functional Theory came up with a final 150.
Only then did the scientists head into the laboratory with 18 compounds to try. In less than a week, they went from 32 million options to 1 top material that used 70% less lithium. Poof!
The future of quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry can do what traditional chemistry does in a fraction of the time; it’s no surprise that scientists are looking to quantum to be the future of chemistry.
While quantum machine learning and algorithms are being used right now, quantum computing is the next application of quantum; people are looking to change the game for chemistry.
For example, scientists have already used a neutral atom quantum computer to speed up the drug discovery process. Instead of trial-and-error in the lab, they used quantum algorithms and neutral atom quantum computing to map how water molecules affect biological processes. Eventually, that information could be used to help a drug bind to a protein in the body.
This is just one type of quantum computer; a universal quantum computer is hopefully on the way. That kind of quantum computer could simulate the entire complex process of drug discovery—dramatically cutting down the timeline of drug discovery from 20 years.
For these reasons, quantum is the source of a lot of excitement for chemists. Putting quantum algorithms, machine learning, and computation toward chemistry opens a new world of possibilities in molecular discovery. Who knows, maybe molecules with the push of a button is next.
Serena Krejci-Papa is a first-year master’s student at the University of Barcelona studying Theoretical and Computational Chemistry with the Erasmus Mundus program. She writes about complex science topics in a way that makes people laugh. You can find more about her at Sciencewithserena.com.
Interview with Elena Yndurain, strategist specialized in digital transformation and emerging technologies, book author, product director at Microsoft, honorary professor at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, adjunct professor, and principal researcher in quantum technologies at IE Business School.
Over the last few decades, we’ve witnessed an astonishing wave of new technologies reshaping industries, transforming our homes, and changing the way we see the world, from the rise of the internet to the breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. Now, another breakthrough is on the horizon: quantum computing. Long felt like the stuff of science fiction, whispered about in academic circles, and splashed across speculative think pieces; in recent years, quantum computing has been quietly stepping into the real world. Companies, governments, and research labs are now in a race to explore its capabilities, from climate modeling to drug discovery. And at the forefront of making quantum computing not just understandable, but implementable, is Dr. Elena Yndurain, technology visionary, professor, and author of the book Quantum Computing Strategy: Foundations and Applicability.
Elena’s career began in consulting before moving into industry roles where she was often tasked with bringing new technologies to the market before people even knew they wanted them.
“I started with the web, cloud, apps, mobile, AI; and created new product categories based on each new technology. For example, when apps didn’t exist, I created a whole category to link research and development with the market. How do you introduce this new product to the market? How do you create a market for it? I created the whole journey,” Elena clarifies.
Spotting Game-Changers in Their Infancy
In a career spanning decades and continents, Elena has been analyzing emerging technologies as they are developed in labs, envisioning their potential applications, building bridges between research and the industry—work that demands a rare combination of technical expertise, business acumen, and a great deal of imagination.
“The most exciting part was imagining what you could do with a particular technology. I had to imagine what people could do, thinking about the possibilities,” Elena explains with enthusiasm.
However, as fascinating as her role in the tech arena was, she often found herself pushing against the current. “When we launched the apps, it was a bit of a lonely job in the sense that no one understood what I was doing.” Over her years in the field, Elena witnessed industry titans dismiss innovations that would soon redefine entire markets, moments when the future was knocking, but a few recognized the sound.
“I have a list of famous last words from big companies, such as no one is going to use the cloud or why do we want an app? A lot of people didn’t understand that the smartphone was about the apps. I remember working with Nokia, and they would ask, How many phones will we be selling? And I would be like, this is not about short term; this is about selling the apps.’’
Identifying the Next Big Leap
Elena’s first encounter with quantum computing was equally visionary, “When IBM opened the cloud for their quantum computer in 2016, I remember thinking, this is the future, this is the new technology.”
To fully develop a clear vision, Elena set out to deepen her understanding of quantum technologies, even knowing it demanded a strong foundation in physics. She approached this challenge with humility, initiative, and an unwavering commitment to continuous learning.
“I thought, I need to understand this, then I read books, I took courses… when I was working [as a professor] at IE Business School, I created a course for me to teach, and that experience forced me to understand in depth.”
From an Eager-to-learn Girl to a Global Quantum Computing Leader at IBM
At only 11 years old, Elena’s mother enrolled her in a summer computer programming course. She was the youngest student in a room where even college students were attending. That first encounter with a computer’s ability to follow her instructions ignited a passion that led her to excel in computer science, embrace mathematics as a double major at the University of Michigan, later on a PhD focused on AI, and eventually become a pioneer in the quantum computing industry, shaping the future of technology at IBM.
“When IBM was creating its quantum team, they reached out to me because they needed someone with business expertise. At the time, the group was a mix of researchers and engineers, but they lacked people who understood the business side. And that’s why I joined the team.”
During her time at IBM, she designed an innovative way to prioritize use cases by tracking the evolution of their underlying quantum algorithms, mapping out what they could achieve over time, and predicting the moment they might surpass classical computing. Her method also weighed whether each algorithm would demand fault-tolerant machines or could still deliver results despite the inevitable “noise” of current quantum systems. This forward-looking framework gave organizations a clear, strategic path for deciding which quantum projects to pursue and when.
“At IBM, I worked with a financial company mapping their use cases, helping prioritize them. Usually, companies don’t have the time or the resources to test every idea, so I came up with a flexible method to ranking them. I created a graph where the X-axis represented time, and the Y-axis measured quantum advantage [the tipping point at which quantum computers outperform classical systems on specific tasks].”
Introducing a disruptive technology like quantum computing into the market requires more than technical expertise—it demands a deep understanding of clients, their needs, and the value you can deliver. Elena brought exactly that ability, combining curiosity, humility, and a big-picture mindset with the skill to tailor solutions to each client’s unique circumstances.
Educating the Next Generation and Breaking Down Quantum for Everyone
Multitalented and full of energy, Elena’s career spans both industry and academia. She is also a professor at Universidad Carlos III and IE Business School in Madrid, where she teaches technology strategy, quantum computing, and digital transformation to executives, master’s students, and undergraduates. Her teaching philosophy focuses on making abstract concepts accessible, using real-world analogies and industry applications to bridge theory and practice.
For that reason, connecting complex science to real-world impact is central to Elena’s new book, Quantum Computing Strategy: Foundations and Applicability.
“One day, a quantum physics professor told me: you should write a book, we need a book that combines business with quantum; he thought I was the right person to write it.”
Originally written in non-technical English, using analogies, visual aids, and real-world comparisons to make the material accessible, her book explains essential quantum algorithms, along with overviews of hardware modalities and programming frameworks. It categorizes problems best suited for quantum—spanning simulations, optimization, AI, and secure communications—helping readers identify use cases in their own industries.
“My book is not only for STEM experts, but also for anyone curious about the potential of quantum computing — from investors, decision-makers, and policymakers to educators, professionals in other fields, and even those in technology who know little about quantum.”
The book also explores how quantum computing can tackle specific problems across eleven industries, including aerospace, energy efficiency, and agriculture.
The Loneliness of Being a Woman in STEM
No interview with Elena would be complete without exploring her experience as a woman in the tech business. From feeling isolated in male-dominated teams to encountering bias in hiring and promotions, she has both endured and witnessed persistent barriers.
“We, as women, face a lot of challenges in STEM. Because there are so few of us, it is always a bit hard to create bonding or support. Sometimes I would feel isolated because the teams do not really consider us with the same capacities, but what I have also seen is that, sometimes, men are the ones who help us,” Elena remarks. “In academia, it is quite bad; students tend to be less respectful. Also, if you are a woman and you try to be tough, they will think you are being too hard, but with men then it is fine.”
In leadership roles, she has championed fair hiring and equal pay for women, often mentoring them through the art of negotiation. She stresses the importance of allies:
“Once at a Startup, I had to push hard for a woman to get the position she truly deserved. They wanted to hire her for a lower role than her qualifications warranted. The committee wanted to choose a man with far less experience instead. I had fought for that; I had fought that very hard. When I was head of innovation, I hired a lot of women into the team, and I always helped them to think about their career path and to not be shy and negotiate to make sure they got the best for them. I know that women hesitate to negotiate, we don’t think that we deserve it.”
If Elena’s career teaches one lesson, it’s that the future belongs to those willing to imagine it, and then do the hard work of making it real.
Keynotes from the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering—IEEE Quantum Week—will shed light on today’s milestones and what’s coming next
(IEEE is an IYQ sponsor.)
As quantum computing continues its transformation from a foundational research endeavor to a viable commercial tool, institutions, companies, and agencies that have embraced the technology from its origins now have industrial developments to report. Quantum leaders from industry, academia, and government are convening at the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering—IEEE Quantum Week—from 31 August to 5 September in Albuquerque, N.M., U.S., to discuss the state of quantum engineering today and how its evolution is driving the next generation of computing. Nine keynotes from renowned quantum organizations will address the current quantum computing dynamic, emerging opportunities, and near-term potential.
“IEEE Quantum Week keynotes address the most important developments in the field, and with the acceleration of initiatives we have seen over the past year, they have much to discuss,” said Candace Culhane, IEEE Quantum Week 2025 Chair and Quantum Science Coordinator at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. “From reflections on quantum engineering’s origins to its very real potential now, these renowned speakers will both challenge and inspire us to expedite our timelines and apply newfound quantum knowledge to address the world’s computing problems.”
Setting today’s foundation
And perhaps no one would be better at providing insights into how to stay the course amidst uncertain outcomes than Nobel Laureates David Wineland and William Phillips. The recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics “for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light,” Phillips now focuses some of his research on quantum information with single-atom qubits, and Wineland, recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems” continues to find passion in research on quantum information, quantum computing, and quantum limits to measurements. The two luminaries will be speaking together in an IEEE Quantum Week keynote on the morning of Tuesday, 2 September.
William D. Phillips Nobel Prize in Physics 1997.
Another two of this year’s keynotes hail from the University of California, highlighting a key focus on quantum in that region. Prineha Narang, professor and the Howard Reiss Chair in Physical Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, will speak on the evening of Wednesday, 3 September, followed by a presentation on Thursday, 4 September, from Chetan Nayak, professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, and technical fellow at Microsoft. Certainly, Microsoft’s February announcement about the world’s first quantum processor powered by topological qubits will be front and center at IEEE Quantum Week, and attendees can expect to hear debate about its impacts and what’s next.
Applying today’s technology
To that point, much has happened with quantum engineering to enable more widespread commercialization of the technology since last year’s IEEE Quantum Week event.
Take, for instance, the idea of distributed quantum computing in silicon. Stephanie Simmons, chief quantum officer at Photonic, will be speaking on Thursday, 4 September, in the evening. Earlier this year, Photonic announced that it had developed “a new, low-overhead family of Quantum Low-Density Parity Check (QLDPC) codes that can efficiently perform both quantum computation and error correction, using materially fewer quantum bits (qubits) than traditional surface code approaches…. [to enable] cost-effective quantum computing at scale.”
Or consider the planned Wednesday, 3 September, morning address from Peter Shadbolt, co-founder and chief scientific officer at PsiQuantum, which was awarded a contract with Air Force Research Laboratory to deliver quantum chip capabilities to the U.S. Air Force.
David Wineland Nobel Prize in Physics 2012
Or look no further than a Friday, 5 September, morning keynote, Sam Stanwyck, head of quantum computing product at NVIDIA, which announced earlier this year that they are building an accelerated quantum computing research center in Boston.
“With so much momentum behind quantum commercialization, we can expect continued announcements about R&D milestones at IEEE Quantum Week and beyond,” remarked Culhane. “Quantum engineering has hit an unprecedented level of applicability, and I expect we’ll only see this focus continue to grow.”
Preparing for the future
Because as new potential emerges, the focus on fundamental research is met with an intentionality around products and solutions.
For instance, on Monday, 1 September, evening keynote speaker Rodney Van Meter, professor of environment and information studies at Keio University in Japan, notes that his research group is focused on “bridging the gap between theoretical algorithms and real-world experiments to accelerate the deployment of useful quantum information technology.”
Jay Gambetta, Tuesday, 2 September, evening keynote speaker and vice president of quantum at IBM, leads the IBM Quantum initiative, which recently has been prophesying the dawn of quantum advantage, the point at which quantum computers are shown to be more efficient, more accurate, or cheaper than classical computers for a particular task.
And as quantum evolves, a highly trained workforce will be key to supporting its future applicability. Organizations like Elevate Quantum, the Mountain West’s innovation engine for quantum technology, are driving those developments on a regional scale. In fact, Elevate Quantum just announced that IBM joined its consortium with plans to “help train over 3,500 learners by 2030 in quantum software and algorithms, thereby supporting nearly 30% of the anticipated quantum workforce needed for the Mountain West.” IEEE Quantum Week attendees can expect to hear more about the future of the workforce when Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum’s CEO and regional innovation officer, gives his morning keynote address on Monday, 1 September.
From technology breakthroughs to broader accessibility and job creation, the future is quantum. IEEE Quantum Week keynotes will expound on why, and the full program will allow attendees not only to witness the dawn of a new era but also to participate in its formation. Now’s the time to get involved in shaping what’s next for quantum engineering.
Interview with Dr. Ana María Cetto, Mexican physics professor and researcher, promoter of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, leader of two Nobel Peace Prize-winning organizations, and IYA’s Tate 2025 Medal.
Many scientists dedicate their entire lives to research and achieve great accomplishments. But to gather the merits that Ana María Cetto, professor and researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, has accumulated would take several lifetimes. Her trajectory is so broad and deep that a few minutes of conversation with her are enough to leave us both impressed and inspired.
In addition to an outstanding scientific career researching the fundamentals of quantum mechanics, Ana María has worked tirelessly for peace, gender equity, and universal access to knowledge. Her understanding of science as an integral commitment to society, combined with her international leadership, has made her a voice admired and listened to around the world. It was precisely this spirit that led her to be one of the main driving forces behind the declaration of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ).
“We had the successful precedent of the International Year of Light, in 2015, in which a very, very small group of scientists got down to work and devoted a lot of time and effort, also diplomatic, and it was a fantastic experience,” Dr. Cetto explains enthusiastically. “The idea [of IYQ] arose within some scientific societies who took it to the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, whose General Assembly in 2021 agreed to approve it; that is where we came in precisely because we had already collaborated with UNESCO, we had already traveled that road, we knew the process, the complexities, and the obstacles.
“So we began to work as a team, the embassy and the Mexican delegation to UNESCO to do their part, and when the initiative was submitted to the UNESCO General Conference, there was no discussion; it was approved by acclamation, by consensus. It was a joint effort and a good example of science diplomacy.“
In addition to the social, ethical, political, and technical impact, the initiative also responds to a deeply personal motivation: to promote a clearer and more accessible understanding of quantum phenomena, to combat the idea that it is an unintelligible or magical science, and to insist that, with the right approach, quantum mechanics can be taught, learned, and applied in a transformative way for societies.
“My motivation was twofold: to help get the initiative accepted for the common good, because there are countries where quantum science and technology are not being developed, there are many disparities, and this leads to technological dependence with all the consequences that this entails for our economies. I also want to promote people’s education and culture so that everyone has an idea of what quantum mechanics means. I am interested in showing that quantum mechanics can be understood, that it is not strange or impossible to explain. It can be explained and I would like to contribute to that, to a good understanding of physics and quantum mechanics.”
The complexities of driving a year that celebrates a fundamental science
Part of the interest in promoting the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology is to prepare governments, educational institutions, and industry for the challenges, bringing to the table the necessary ethical discussion about new technologies.
Despite limited resources and resistance from some industrialized countries reluctant to accept the cost and complexity of launching a new global scientific initiative, the commitment, coordination, and conviction of those involved allowed the proposal to be approved without the need for debate. In an outstanding effort of effective science diplomacy, a record 72 countries officially supported the IYQ proclamation.
“There was some confusion and even resistance. The richer countries, those with more resources and those with more technology, are usually the most resistant to another scientific year, arguing that it is too expensive. Finally, we managed to get everyone interested, because the business that quantum science produces today is appreciable in communications, microelectronics, devices for disease diagnosis, drug design… quantum science is everywhere, and the countries that invest the most in it are the ones that benefit the most [the IYQ]”.
A Mexican woman deserving of two Nobel Peace Prizes
Beyond her academic work, Cetto has been a strong advocate for peace and science diplomacy. Since her student years, she has been active in peace movements, and later joined the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. This international non-governmental organization, which works to reduce armed conflict and promote global security, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, while Cetto was on the Executive Committee. In 1997, she was elected president of the organization.
“The work at Pugwash was interesting and enriching, and I particularly got to bring a different voice: coming from a country that has been traditionally pacifist and was a pioneer in establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones. I have a fresh, distinct vision of approaching the search for peaceful ways to solutions.
During that experience, there were some very satisfying moments, but others were not so satisfying because there were conflicts that not only persisted but also escalated.The characteristic of Pugwash is that it has outstanding scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, former military and diplomats, and professionals who are very committed to disarmament and peaceful conflict resolution.
Now I have been invited to head a newly established advisory board, which for me means recognition of my 30-year involvement, but also a lot of commitment because of the critical situation we are going through. The important thing is to continue in the struggle.”
In 2003, Dr. Ana María Cetto took on a new challenge as Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a key institution for global security that, just two years later, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. By joining the agency, Dr. Cetto not only broke barriers by becoming the first woman – and the first Latin American – to hold that position, but also left a profound mark on crucial issues for the future of humanity.
In one of her most influential works within the IAEA, she addressed the different nuclear technologies and the diversity of their peaceful applications that bring enormous benefits, such as in medicine, agriculture, or energy production, but also pose increasingly serious risks due to their wider availability. Given this delicate balance, Dr. Cetto emphasized the urgent need to strengthen nuclear safety infrastructures, especially in a context of accelerating technological advances, geopolitical tensions, and renewed interest in nuclear energy.
“When, in 2002, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei invited me to join as Deputy Director General, I had to withdraw from Pugwash because of a potential conflict of interest. Thus began an eight-year stint in Vienna. There I headed the technical cooperation program in charge of peaceful applications of nuclear technologies. It was a very enriching experience, at a particularly good time for the Agency.“
Ana Maria Cetto, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation. IAEA, Vienna, Austria. January 6, 2003. Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA.
The will to understand the fundamentals of quantum mechanics
Research into the fundamentals of quantum mechanics is an area that many scientists look at out of the corner of their eye; some dismiss it as mere philosophy. For many, all has already been said, and they consider that investigating the cause of quantum phenomena is a waste of time: after all, some argue, quantum mechanics works so well that it has already led to impressive technologies and promising ones, such as quantum computers.
But Ana María Cetto is not willing to abandon her intellectual curiosity for practicality. From a very young age she has always insisted on getting to the heart of the matter: understanding quantum phenomena from the physics itself, not just from the interpretations. As she says, it is not just a matter of making it work but of understanding why it works.
“When I was a student, quantum professors said things that I disagreed with, and that motivated me to look for another explanation. Quantum mechanics, as presented in textbooks, is a catalog of principles, akin to decrees, but all this can be explained rigorously by developing the necessary physics.
Since the first formalism of quantum mechanics was published, 100 years ago with Heisenberg’s work and a little later with Schrödinger’s, it has been very successful: it is a formalism that allows you to make very precise calculations and even to make predictions, but the founders at that time did not care about understanding the origin of quantum phenomena. At that time, they were very busy developing their algebra, and so that question was left on the back burner.”
Together with her small research group, Ana María Cetto takes up this forgotten question with a provocative proposal: to go beyond traditional interpretations and search for the underlying physics. Inspired by an early observation by Max Planck, who in 1911 explained that his work was incomplete, she and her team have developed an approach that explains quantum phenomena associated with dual wave-particle behavior, not as mysteries, but as the result of a concrete interaction between subatomic particles and the vacuum.
“In 1911, Max Planck explained that his formula was incomplete because one must also include a term that always exists, even when there is no external radiation. When there are no light bulbs on, a field known as “vacuum” remains, and it must exert some effect on the particles. Inspired by this, we set about doing physics, not interpretation, and we have been able to explain how the vacuum field imprints on the particles a certain wave-like behavior that is expressed in interference phenomena. Atoms are still particles hit by this playful field. Imagine a stone falling into a pond and forming a wave, and the stone is interacting with the waves, so that vacuum is interacting with the particles, and with that we explain quantum phenomena.”
Tate Medal: an award for rigorous research with a social and humanistic vision
Among a long list of well-deserved awards, Dr. Cetto received this year no less than the John Torrence Tate Medal, one of the highest awards given by the American Institute of Physics. An award reserved for those who have left their mark not only in scientific research, but also in the visibility and democratization of knowledge.
The distinction recognizes his exceptional career in quantum physics, but also celebrates his international leadership, his tireless struggle for equity and for a more inclusive science, more ethical and more connected to social realities, highlighting the creation of the Regional Online Information System for Scientific Journals in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal – Latindex, which today is a continental reference in editorial quality supported by a non-commercial network of partners in all countries of the region and has been key to transforming the landscape of access to knowledge in Spanish and Portuguese.
“A deep-rooted bias still persists in the international physics community. We, because we work in a country that is not considered “central” on the map of science, continue to be victims of that bias. And in some way, we have also been complicit, because instead of citing our own work or that of colleagues in the region, we end up prioritizing the work of other authors published in foreign journals.
In many spaces, it is still considered – not openly, but subliminally, tacitly – that those of us who do science from the South produce second-rate knowledge. And that is not only false, it is deeply unfair.
That is why in recent years I have devoted time and energy to the issue of access to scientific publications, to the recognition of journals that are produced outside the so-called mainstream, controlled by large commercial publishers that have turned this into a business. It has not been easy, I had to live it closely with the Mexican Journal of Physics. The evaluation systems did not recognize it, they did not take us into account. But that is beginning to change: in Mexico and in other countries, evaluation criteria are already being adjusted to value the editorial work done in our own communities.
Publishing in today’s leading journals can cost thousands of dollars per article. You not only have to pay to read, but also to publish. And that imposes yet another barrier. That’s why we fight for a fairer system that is accessible to all.
I was very pleased to learn the reasons why I am receiving the AIP Tate Medal: for my work for equity, for international leadership in physics, and for the creation of Latindex. I am also pleased to have had the opportunity to collaborate with all the colleagues with whom I have had the good fortune to work. The fact that the results of this teamwork are recognized as a valuable contribution really makes me happy.
Training as a scientist: a privilege that entails responsibilities
The road to leadership is sometimes traveled without maps, guided by curiosity, commitment, and a persistent question: what can I contribute from what I know? In the world of science, this question takes on a special dimension. Because doing research is not only a career of knowledge, but also an opportunity to transform realities.
Ana María Cetto’s transit as a leader in quantum physics, working not only for its understanding, but defining its role in society, definitely invites us to reflect, to look at science not only as an end, but as a means to generate social impact.
“There are no recipes for participating in activities that have a social impact. As one advances and grows in one’s scientific training, learning more and more, one also begins to understand that this possibility of learning and becoming a scientist is, in many ways, a privilege. That privilege comes with responsibilities. The tools provided by science should not only be used for personal or professional development, but also to contribute to the common good. Science is, after all, a human product that is built on the work of millions of people.”
Featured picture copyright: UNESCO/Marie ETCHEGOYEN.
How do you measure the success of an outreach project? When we launched QuanTour just over a year ago, we didn’t really know what to expect.
Our idea of QuanTour started with a simple, playful concept: what if a quantum emitter (an artificial atom made out of semiconductor material capable of emitting one photon at a time) could travel across Europe, visiting research labs in a kind of relay race, announcing the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology like an Olympic torch? We packed a real quantum light source — a single-photon emitter — into a custom-built suitcase and sent it on tour. The goal wasn’t just to showcase quantum technology and offer a look behind the scenes, but to connect people and to highlight the diversity of scientists, from students to professors. From the very beginning, we had one audience especially in mind: young people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. Not with hard educational content or dense physics explanations, but through a light, fun concept that sparks curiosity. By showcasing scientists in an authentic way, we aimed to make science tangible and approachable.
How our quantum light source fascinated people around the world
Credit: The Science Talk.
A year later, we find ourselves overwhelmed by the project’s rapid development. Across digital platforms, QuanTour content has reached over one million views, far more than we had imagined. To put that into perspective, a research paper might receive 30 citations per year, while a conference talk might reach 200 people. QuanTour, by contrast, reached homes, labs, newspapers, podcasts, and people, finding a presence in places that traditional academic outputs rarely reach.
While these are just numbers, it’s the stories surrounding the quantum emitter that are truly memorable. The open lab days organized by researchers at QuanTour stops welcomed both young and old. The newspaper clippings proudly passed around among families who saw their children and grandchildren featured in the media. The regional news outlets that celebrated their role in a European-wide initiative, not only in English but in the many languages spoken across Europe. The unexpected scientific exchanges between labs that hadn’t worked together before. These encounters, often spontaneous and personal, remind us that quantum science is not just about abstract theory or precision measurement. It is about human connection, about curiosity, and about the shared joy of discovery.
Credit: Max Aigner. Credit: Helio Heut.Credit: Ana Musial.
Key ingredients and lessons learned
Looking back, we also learned a lot about what makes outreach successful. One key ingredient was choosing the right partners. Since the task force of the German Physical Society (DPG) was founded three years before the start of the Quantum Year, we became part of the team and refined our idea. The German Physical Society played a vital role, not only by supporting us financially—with generous funding from the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation – and administratively, but also by helping to spread the word. Another important aspect is that we teamed up with science communication expert Dr. Pranoti Kshirsagar from The Science Talk. She taught us how to build sustainable communication strategies, how to identify a target audience, how to make our content visible, and how to overcome our initial hesitation with digital platforms. She also hosted a twelve-episode podcast series featuring interviews with the scientists behind QuanTour. These episodes became much more than outreach content. They evolved into a kind of lecture series on quantum science, accessible to everyone.
Another lesson we took to heart is that outreach, just like research, thrives through collaboration. Partnering with established institutions and strong communicators can amplify ideas and make them visible to entirely new audiences. Involving the community directly is just as essential. When we announced a challenge to bring QuanTour to Türkiye, the response was immediate and enthusiastic. When it finally arrived, the celebration at the Izmir Quantum Days was unforgettable. Students asked thought-provoking questions, researchers welcomed them with enthusiasm, and the atmosphere was electric from start to finish.
Now, while the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology is in full swing, the journey of the quantum light source continues. We are already planning the next chapters of QuanTour, with new stops, new stories, and new encounters that bring quantum science into conversation with the wider world. Outreach does not end when the suitcase closes. It evolves, just like science itself.
Cheers to the little quantum emitter and to all those who have contributed to turning an idea into a movement.
Authors: Doris Reiter (TU Dortmund) and Tobias Heindel (TU Berlin), Members of the DPG Quantum Taskforce
IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE)—IEEE Quantum Week—reports record paper submissions from industry, academia, and government in growing technical areas
(IEEE is an IYQ sponsor.)
From August 31 to September 5, 2025, the city of Albuquerque, N.M., U.S., will be abuzz with cohorts of quantum experts, as the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE), more simply known as IEEE Quantum Week, kicks off. This year’s conference will draw a diverse crowd of global leaders from industry, government, and academia, all working toward an exciting quantum future.
“At Quantum Week, there’s something for everyone,” says Hausi Müller, chair of the IEEE Quantum Technical Community, co-founder and Steering Committee Chair of IEEE Quantum Week, and professor of computer science at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. “Those new to the discipline walk away with as much as seasoned quantum computing experts. Quantum Week’s beauty is that it truly draws the global quantum community to shape what’s next for the field.”
Technical Program
Reporting more than 555 paper submissions—a nearly 25% increase over the number received in 2024—the 2025 conference will explore the topics shaping quantum research and development across various topical areas. From a first read of the submissions, this year’s featured topics will include:
Quantum Internet and Quantum Networking– Now that researchers have unveiled the ability to carry both classical and quantum traffic on fiber optic networks, new potential continues to emerge in integrating standard networking infrastructure with quantum needs. “This development has been a game changer,” says Müller. “We are realizing this shift in paper submissions. Just a few years ago, we would only receive a handful of papers on these topics; now they make up a significant part of submissions.”
Distributed Quantum Computing – In addition, now that advancements have enabled researchers to apply entanglement across two different quantum chips, quantum computing can happen at scale. With the growing demand for qubits and the limited processing power of singular systems, networking a number of chips together becomes a viable engineering solution, and one that will be explored during IEEE Quantum Week 2025. “Distributed quantum computing is key; it’s this concept of running different chips in parallel,” explains Müller. “That’s one of the fastest-growing areas of quantum computing.”
Qubit Technologies – Quantum hardware is rapidly evolving along various technology strands. IBM, Google, D-Wave, and Rigetti are at the forefront of advancements in superconducting processors for fault-tolerant quantum computing systems. IonQ and Quantinuum excel in trapped-ion qubits with high fidelity and long coherence times. Photonic and qubits, developed by Xanadu, Intel, and Photonic, are ideal for communication and sensing via quantum networks. Neutral atom qubits, developed by QuEra, Pasqal, and Atom Computing, are an emerging and scalable alternative that operates at room temperature. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum processor powered by topological qubits—a technology that operates at an even finer-grained scale with intrinsic error resistance. “This is a significant development for quantum computing,” Müller says. “IEEE Quantum Week 2025 is a terrific forum to discuss the evolution of logical qubit technologies with experts.”
Advancing Quantum Computing Through Community
It’s no secret that the field of quantum computing has taken a significant leap forward over the past few years, yet the technology still appears to have seemingly infinite untapped potential. And no event is better suited for tapping into that potential than IEEE Quantum Week with its workshops, tutorials, technology showcase, industry engagement, and growing community.
IEEE Quantum Week creates a collaborative environment for information sharing that encompasses a global constituency of companies, academic institutions, national labs, and more. Perhaps more importantly, that spirit of connection continues throughout the year, strengthening the personal and professional ties that truly foster innovation.
“From my perspective, this is what I’m most proud of,” says Müller. “Annually, we provide a platform to nurture everyone in the quantum community, and in turn, they support one another with continued growth in the field.”
The authors of a new book tell the stories of 16 women who made crucial contributions to quantum physics, yet whose names don’t usually appear in textbooks
As modern quantum mechanics was taking shape in the mid 1920s, the field was sometimes referred to in German as Knabenphysik—“boys’ physics”—because so many of the theorists who were crucial to its development were young men. A new book published as part of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology pushes back against that male-dominated perspective, which has also tended to dominate historical analyses. Coedited by historians of science Daniela Monaldi and Michelle Frank, physicist-turned-science writer Margriet van der Heijden, and physicist Patrick Charbonneau, Women in the History of Quantum Physics: Beyond Knabenphysik presents biographies of 16 oft-overlooked women in the field’s history.
The editors did not profile physicists such as Lise Meitner and Maria Goeppert Mayer, who have attracted significant attention from historians and physicists. As the editors explain in the book’s introduction, focusing on a few heroic figures perpetuates “a mythology of uniqueness.” They instead highlight individuals who are lesser known but nevertheless made important contributions. The following photo essay highlights six of those scientists.
H. Johanna van Leeuwen
Photo courtesy of the Van Leeuwen family.
In 1919, Dutch physicist H. Johanna van Leeuwen (1887–1974) discovered that magnetism in solids cannot solely be explained by classical mechanics and statistical mechanics: It must be a quantum property. Niels Bohr had made the same insight in his 1911 doctoral thesis, but he never published the result in a scientific journal; it was published only in Danish and barely circulated outside Denmark. Van Leeuwen rediscovered what is now called the Bohr–Van Leeuwen theorem in her doctoral research at Leiden University. The theorem, which has applications in plasma physics and other fields, came to the attention of the broader community after Van Leeuwen published an article based on her doctoral thesis in the French Journal de Physique et le Radium (Journal of Physics and Radium) in 1921.
As happened with many women of that era, little trace was left of Van Leeuwen (pictured here in an undated photo) in the historical record. Chapter authors Van der Heijden and Miriam Blaauboer uncovered several sources that helped them assemble an illustrative synopsis of her career. Van Leeuwen was one of four women to study with Hendrik Lorentz, with whom she remained close until his death in 1928. Unlike many women of her generation, Van Leeuwen remained in the field for her entire career: She was appointed as an assistant at the Technical College of Delft in 1920, a position that required her to supervise laboratory courses for electrical engineering students. In the little spare time she had, Van Leeuwen continued her research into magnetism. In 1947, she was promoted to reader, which meant that she could finally teach her own courses.
Laura Chalk Rowles
Photo courtesy of Marilyn MacGregor.
Laura Chalk Rowles (1904–96) was one of the first women to receive a PhD in physics from McGill University in Montreal, in 1928. Her dissertation investigated the Stark effect—the shifting of the spectral lines of atoms exposed to an external electric field—in the hydrogen atom. In his series of 1926 articles on wave mechanics, Erwin Schrödinger had used quantum theory to predict how the Stark effect would affect the intensities of the Balmer series of spectral lines in hydrogen. As chapter author Daniela Monaldi outlines, Chalk (pictured ca. 1931) used an instrument known as a Lo Surdo tube to measure the intensities of the spectral lines; the work provided the first experimental confirmation of Schrödinger’s predictions. She published several articles on the subject in collaboration with her adviser, John Stuart Foster.
Later in his life, Foster regarded his subsequent work on the Stark effect in helium as more important than the hydrogen experiments he had carried out with Chalk. Observers and historians have tended to follow his lead, so her contributions are often overlooked. After spending the 1929–30 academic year at King’s College London, Chalk received a teaching position in McGill’s agriculture college. But after she married William Rowles, who was also at McGill, she scaled back to working only part time. Five years later, she was let go because of rules that were ostensibly designed to prevent nepotism but typically served to exclude women from the professoriat.
Elizabeth Monroe Boggs
Photo courtesy of Pamela Murphy.
Elizabeth Monroe Boggs (1913–96) received significant press attention for her advocacy work on behalf of people with disabilities. But her prior career in science has long gone overlooked, writes chapter author Charbonneau. Boggs (pictured in 1928) was the only undergraduate to study with famed mathematician Emmy Noether at Bryn Mawr College before Noether’s untimely death in 1935. After graduating, Boggs pursued a PhD at the University of Cambridge, where she began studying the application of quantum physics to molecular structure—a pursuit that is now known as quantum chemistry. For her thesis, she used an analog computing device called a differential analyzer to probe the wave functions of diatomic molecules.
After finishing her studies, she received a research assistantship at Cornell University, where she met and married chemist Fitzhugh Boggs. As was common in the day, his career took precedence over hers: They moved to Pittsburgh in 1942 when Fitzhugh received a job at Westinghouse. Elizabeth taught at the University of Pittsburgh for a year and then got a job at the Explosives Research Laboratory outside the city, where she ended up contributing to the Manhattan Project by helping to design the explosive lens for implosion bombs like the one ultimately used on Nagasaki. She eventually decided to withdraw from the field and focus on advocacy after the birth in 1945 of a son, David, who had severe developmental delays because of brain damage from an illness.
Katharine Way
Photo courtesy of the AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Wheeler Collection.
Katharine Way (1903–95) was the first graduate student of John Wheeler’s at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the late 1930s. As chapter author Stefano Furlan recounts, Way’s research during her PhD studies included using the liquid-drop model of the atom, which approximates the nucleus as a droplet of liquid, to examine how nuclei deform when rotating at high speeds. In a 1939 Physical Review article, she describes the magnetic moments of heavier nuclei. While carrying out the research, Way (pictured in an undated photo) noticed an anomaly that she brought to Wheeler’s attention: The model was unable to account for highly charged nuclei rotating at extremely high speeds. In later recollections, Wheeler regretted that the two didn’t further investigate that observation: He noted that, in retrospect, the model’s failure in that case was an early indication that nuclei could come apart, just as they do in fission.
During World War II, Way worked on nuclear reactor design at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago; she moved to Oak Ridge Laboratory in 1945. Along with Eugene Wigner, she published a 1948 Physical Review article outlining what is now known as the Way–Wigner formula for nuclear decay, which calculates rates of beta decay in fission reactions. She spent much of her postwar career at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST), where she initiated and led the Nuclear Data Project, a crucial source for information on atomic and nuclear properties that is now part of the National Nuclear Data Center at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Way was also active in efforts to get nuclear scientists to think about the societal ramifications of their work.
Sonja Ashauer
Photo courtesy of the Ashauer family.
Although her death from pneumonia at age 25 ended her career practically before it began, Sonja Ashauer (1923–48) was an accomplished physicist and promising talent, chapter authors Barbra Miguele and Ivã Gurgel argue. The daughter of German immigrants to Brazil, Ashauer (pictured ca. 1940) studied at the University of São Paulo with Italian physicist Gleb Wataghin, who likely introduced her to quantum theory. Shortly before the end of World War II, in 1945, she moved to the University of Cambridge, where she became the only woman among Paul Dirac’s few graduate students.
In her 1947 thesis, Ashauer worked on one of the most pressing problems of the day in quantum electrodynamics: what was termed the divergence of the electron’s self-energy. Because that self-energy—the energy resulting from the electron’s interactions with its own electromagnetic field—is inversely proportional to its radius, the value tends to infinity when the particle is modeled as a point charge. Ashauer attacked the problem by working to improve classical electrodynamics in the hope that it might inform the quantum theory. That divergence problem and others were ultimately solved through the renormalization techniques discovered around 1950.
Freda Friedman Salzman
Photo courtesy of Amy Parker.
Freda Friedman Salzman (1927–81) is more often remembered for her work advocating for women in science than for her significant contributions to physics. As an undergraduate, Salzman (pictured in the late 1940s) studied physics with nuclear physicist Melba Phillips at Brooklyn College. In the mid 1950s, in collaboration with her husband, George Salzman, she came up with a numerical method to solve the integral equations of what was known as the Chew–Low model: a description of nuclear interactions developed by Geoffrey Chew—Freda’s dissertation adviser at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—and Francis Low. To carry out those calculations, the Salzmans used the ILLIAC I, an early computer. Published in 1957 in Physical Review, what was soon termed the Chew-Low-Salzman method helped stimulate work by nuclear and particle physicists, including Stanley Mandelstam, Kenneth Wilson, and Andrzej Kotański in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Chapter author Jens Salomon argues that the method was one of Freda’s most important contributions to the field.
Freda and George lived an itinerant academic lifestyle for a period before finding what they believed to be permanent positions at the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1965. Four years later, Freda was fired after the university began to enforce what they claimed to be an anti-nepotism policy. Her termination became a cause célèbre, and after a long campaign, she got her job back in 1972 and received tenure in 1975. The fight to regain her job at the university appears to have motivated Salzman to devote increasing amounts of time to feminist advocacy in the 1970s.
