Clemson Team Goes Global with Quantum After SC QuantathonV1 Win

(SC Quantum is an IYQ sponsor.)

When Clemson University students signed up for the first-ever South Carolina Quantathon in October 2024, they didn’t expect it would launch them onto a yearlong journey that would carry them across the globe and to some of the world’s most respected quantum hackathons. But that’s exactly what happened.

What began as a weekend experience in Columbia, South Carolina, where students worked on quantum random number generation (QRNG) at SC Quantum’s flagship hackathon, has grown into something much larger. Guided by Dr. Rong Ge from Clemson University and supported by cross-sector partnerships, these students now show what can happen when curiosity meets opportunity in the quantum space.

“The original Quantathon catapulted me into a deeper commitment to quantum computing research. It helped me find what I’m passionate about.”  
—Valentine Mohaugen, Clemson undergraduate

Much of this momentum was made possible by Clemson’s Creative Inquiry (CI) Program, which supports Dr. Ge’s “Hands-on Quantum Computing” course. Among its broad assistance, CI helps facilitate travel and training opportunities for students who are immersed in this emerging technology.

CI provided critical early support for the team’s participation in the SC Quantathon and MIT iQuHack, experiences that helped launch their year-long journey. Students backed by CI were also part of the team that competed in Abu Dhabi, a major accomplishment that highlights the lasting impact of this investment. The students affiliated with CI include:

  • Nathan Jones (PhD CI Mentor)
  • Joseph Benich (School of Computing undergraduate, Junior)
  • Toby Cox (School of Computing undergraduate, Junior)
  • Valentine Mohaugen (Physics, Senior)
  • Ian Lewis (School of Computing undergraduate, Junior)

The broad backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise apparent in the team are a dynamic reflection of Clemson and of the interest quantum technology is gaining across campuses across our region.

From First Hack to First Place

At Quantathon V1, the Clemson team took on the quantum random number generation (QRNG) challenge presented by DoraHacks, creating a framework for scalable quantum random number generation and post-processing for cybersecurity and algorithmic applications. They not only won their challenge but also earned the event’s top prize. In partnership with SC Quantum and NYU Abu Dhabi, the team secured spots at the NYU-AD International Hackathon for Social Good in April 2025 in Abu Dhabi. Their win also came with a mini-grant from DoraHacks to continue developing their project, setting off a wave of insight and new opportunities.

“We dug into the tradeoffs between randomness, speed, and efficiency—things we only scratched the surface of during the hackathon.”  
—Sam Quan, Clemson undergraduate

Over the following weeks, the team expanded on their original work, refining entropy analysis, comparing algorithmic tradeoffs, and drafting a technical write-up of their findings for DoraHacks. In doing so, they gained new skills in quantum algorithm design, optimization, and applied research.

Learning at MIT and Arriving in Abu Dhabi

The momentum from Quantathon V1 soon carried the team to MIT’s competitive iQuHack. The event brought deep dives into theoretical challenges hosted by Alice & Bob, an elite group of participants, and a fast-paced environment that pushed their understanding to new levels.

The NYUAD experience brought a new kind of learning: large, diverse teams working on open-ended problems with real-world applications. As student mentors, the Clemson group played a leadership role. The experience combined cultural exchange with technical leadership, as they guided group projects in areas like quantum sensing, machine learning, and mental health diagnostics.

“The NYUAD hackathon was the best academic and cultural experience of my life. I made friends I’m going back to visit.”  
—Valentine Mohaugen

Their NYUAD projects are now being prepared for publication, a reflection of the depth of their exploration and the professional-level collaboration they achieved through these opportunities.

The NYUAD experience included team members learning from each other. Courtesy: Clemson teammates.

A New Chapter, and More to Come

At home on campus, the students have helped grow Clemson’s emerging quantum community, supporting peers through a student-led quantum club and mentoring new students entering the space. Today, they’re exploring publications, refining their projects, and even helping plan future SC Quantum events.

Their journey is a vivid example of how faculty support, early access, and cross-sector collaboration can empower undergraduates to thrive in advanced, interdisciplinary fields. The team credits Dr. Ge’s mentorship and Clemson’s academic environment as foundational to their success. 

Students from Clemson’s Quantum Club play quantum chess in McAdams Hall. Courtesy Clemson University.

“I’m incredibly grateful to SC Quantum, DoraHacks, MIT, and NYU Abu Dhabi for opening doors for us. But none of it would have happened without Dr. Ge’s support back at Clemson.” 
—Sam Quan

SC Quantum’s hackathon model and network of partners played a key role in shaping the team’s path, offering early exposure, funding support, and global visibility. As South Carolina’s regional quantum network expands, stories like this show the value of building pathways that meet students where they are and help them reach even further.

And the best part? This is still the beginning.

– – – – – –

Quantathon V2, the second edition of SC Quantum’s flagship hackathon for the Southeast, will take place October 9–12 in Columbia, South Carolina, at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. The event is powered by qBraid, with Platinum Sponsors the Columbia Area Development Partnership and AgFirst Farm Credit Bank. Learn more about Quantathon V2 by clicking here.


Dave Alsobrooks
Director of Communications, SC Quantum
dalsobrooks@scquantum.org

How Does Quantum Help Us Understand Chemistry?

We talked before about how the word “quantum” often appears alongside the word
“physics,” but that quantum science is also important to fields like chemistry. Is quantum science used in chemistry?

That’s a great question! A lot of people learn about chemistry in school without understanding that quantum science lies at the heart of how and why atoms stick together to form molecules and materials. For example, consider the simplest and smallest atom, hydrogen. If you have a bottle filled with just hydrogen gas, the hydrogen atoms in the bottle aren’t bouncing around by themselves; they like to pair up with each other to make hydrogen molecules.

Yes, that’s the difference between a hydrogen atom and a hydrogen molecule; the molecules are paired-up atoms. The same thing is true of oxygen, too, isn’t it?

That’s right—oxygen molecules in the air around us that we breathe are bound together in pairs. In addition to hydrogen atoms sticking together and oxygen atoms sticking together, you can also get combinations of hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

Illustration by Serena Krejci-Papa

I know one: water! H₂O—two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom form chemical bonds with each other to make one water molecule.

Exactly. There’s one other compound you can make out of hydrogen and oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, which is a combination of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms, H₂O₂, and is used to bleach things, like paper, to make them white. This compound isn’t as stable as water; in fact, over time, it tends to fall apart, and any other combination you make of hydrogen and oxygen will quickly fall apart.

Why is this? Why does one oxygen atom like to stick to exactly two hydrogen atoms and not just one, three, or seven? Why do oxygen atoms like to pair up with each other rather than be apart or in groups of three or some other number?

These are excellent questions that have puzzled chemists for many years. Elements like hydrogen and oxygen were first isolated and named in the late 1700s. The 1800s saw the development of the idea that all compounds were whole-number combinations of chemical atoms; however, a mystery remained as to why certain combinations of atoms were allowed and others seemed forbidden.

So, did it just seem random which combinations worked and which ones didn’t?

Not at all. From doing experiments and combining elements, chemists noticed certain patterns about how atoms combined. For example, when the elements were organized into the periodic table according to similar chemical behavior, the fact that there are eight elements in the second row matched up with the observation that elements along this row liked to make a certain number of bonds depending on their position in the row. For example, carbon, which is the 4th element in the row, likes to make four bonds; nitrogen, which is the 5th element, likes to make three bonds; oxygen, which is the 6th element, likes to make two bonds; fluorine, which is the 7th element, likes to make one bond; and neon, which is the last element in the row, doesn’t like bonding to anything.

Illustration by Serena Krejci-Papa

So oxygen, in the 6th position, likes to make bonds with two hydrogens to make water. I see the pattern you’re talking about: 6 + 2 = 8. Why eight?

This is exactly the question chemists were pondering at the start of the 20th century. There was clearly some reason behind this rule of eight, or “octet rule,” but no one understood where this eight came from. One interesting idea was that a cube had eight corners, so maybe there was something cubical about atoms that made them want to have one electron at each corner of the cube, which they could achieve by sharing electrons. But there was no evidence that there was anything cubical about the arrangement of electrons in atoms, so that model wasn’t the solution to the puzzle about the rule of eight.

So what did solve the puzzle, then?


Quantum mechanics! Almost as soon as quantum mechanics was developed, starting one hundred years ago, scientists saw how applying it to the problem of how atoms were structured—a positively charged nucleus attracting electrons to it—led directly to the patterns of the periodic table. It explained not only the rule of eight, but all sorts of other rules for how and why atoms chemically bond together. Soon, chemists not only had a quantum understanding of why oxygen likes to bond to two hydrogens to form water, but also used quantum science to find rules governing chemical combinations, compounds, and bonds that they hadn’t previously understood.

But how did quantum mechanics explain this rule of eight?


Remember that the “quantum” in quantum mechanics means something you can count. A hallmark of quantum science is showing how there are sometimes countable aspects to things that don’t seem on the surface like there’s anything there to count. In the case of atoms and bonds, the attractions and repulsions of electrons and nuclei seemed like a problem where there wouldn’t be anything countable about the possible arrangements of the electrons and the bonds they form. It was only with a quantum understanding of the wave-like nature of electrons that the hidden counting of these arrangements was revealed.

So, thinking about it, every single bond between every single atom, holding together all the materials and objects, is governed and described by quantum mechanics.

Exactly, not only all the things around us, but us as well! We wouldn’t understand how the atoms in our bodies stick together without quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics solved some of the mysteries from a century ago about how simple compounds work, but even today, researchers are actively using quantum mechanics to reveal how more complicated materials and molecules work – including many of the ones that make up you and me.









Written by Paul Cadden-Zimansky, Associate Professor of Physics at Bard College and a Global Coordinator of IYQ.

IYQ mascot, Quinnie, was created by Jorge Cham, aka PHD Comics, in collaboration with Physics Magazine. 
All rights reserved.

Illustrations: Serena Krejci-Papa

Featured image: Electronics factory worker, Cikarang, Indonesia © ILO/Asrian Mirza

What Quantum Mechanics Taught Us About Feeding Half the World

(Olivia Castillo is a physics student and APS JNIPER fellow.)

During the first decade of the 20th century, a German chemist named Fritz Haber pulled bread out of thin air, feeding the hungry mouths of a rapidly growing population and ultimately saving billions from starvation. He discovered a method to transform our nitrogen-rich air into ammonia, which fertilizes so much agriculture that half of the world’s population is dependent on it. 

Although synthesizing ammonia from air may seem straightforward due to the presence of only two essential ingredients (nitrogen and hydrogen), it is a process that is remarkably complex. This is largely due to the fact that molecular nitrogen has a triple bond, one of the strongest in chemistry, and breaking it requires a tremendous amount of energy. 

Illustrations by Serena Krejci-Papa
Fritz Haber in his lab.

It’s worth noting that ammonia is naturally produced by lightning, a phenomenon that is notoriously difficult to replicate in a controlled lab setting, underscoring the enormity of the challenge. To artificially manufacture ammonia, Haber incorporated a catalyst, a substance that offers an alternative pathway with lower energy requirements to speed up reactions. With the catalyst, Haber satisfied a ravenous population, but Haber’s breakthrough had a blind spot: how it actually worked.

In the absence of this knowledge, Haber’s successors turned to a familiar scientific strategy, relentless trial and error. One notable example was Alwin Mittasch, a German chemist, who conducted roughly 20,000 experiments between 1909 and 1912 to test possible catalysts. Although these educated guesses greatly enhanced Haber’s method, it was still a mystery how each of those catalysts affected the reaction efficiency. 

For early ammonia production, this iterative experimentation worked wonderfully to roll out the ammonia factories and nourish the population. But now, about 2% of the entire globe’s energy consumption is dedicated to ammonia synthesis. As we flood the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, we need a sharper understanding to reduce the reaction’s energy consumption and maximize its efficiency. Thankfully, quantum mechanics fulfilled this need. 

Mapping the Catalyst’s Surface: A Treasure Hunt for Chemists

Common types of catalysts are pieces of metal or alloys that are not consumed by the reaction, remaining unchanged, and it is on their surface where the desired reaction occurs. The main culprit behind early chemists’ lack of understanding of the ammonia synthesis was the intricate surface of the catalyst. These surfaces need to be mapped out diligently because, like a pirate searching for a treasure chest, scientists hunt for active sites, precise points where the chemical reaction takes place, scattered along the surface. An accurate map of the landscape reveals these treasures, allowing chemists to pinpoint where the reaction occurs and illuminating how the catalyst supports the chemical transformation. 

In the case of ammonia synthesis, for nitrogen gas to react, it must anchor onto active sites, breaking its own internal triple bond and replacing it with a bond to the catalyst. To increase the chances of this happening, small particles of the catalyst are sprinkled into a highly porous supporting material, providing a larger surface area for the nitrogen gas to bind to. 

Illustration by Serena Krejci-Papa

However, because nitrogen can only stick to rare spots on the catalyst, it is difficult for scientists to locate these active sites upon mostly barren terrain. Furthermore, other atoms bound to the catalyst’s surface could affect its reactivity and complicate the surface characterization. To answer these questions, a new kind of map would need to be developed, one drawn by quantum mechanics.  

Using Quantum Mechanics to Model What We Can’t See

Karoliina Honkala. Photo taken by Petteri Kivimäki. Provided by Karoliina Honkala. 

In 2005, Karoliina Honkala and her colleagues from the Center for Atomic-Scale Materials Physics in Denmark, equipped with a powerful computational tool from quantum mechanics—Density Functional Theory (DFT)—investigated the surface of ruthenium. Ruthenium is the most effective catalyst for manufacturing ammonia, although iron is the most widespread due to its lower cost. 
Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics that describes atomic interactions, and its foundation lies in Schrödinger’s equation, which chronicles how the quantum state of a system evolves over time. Like the sophisticated algorithm running behind your TikTok feed, Schrödinger’s equation runs the show in quantum physics. But the Schrödinger equation is incredibly difficult to solve. Thus, DFT solves an approximate version of the Schrödinger equation. By finding solutions to this potent equation, DFT allows scientists to zoom into the tiny world of atoms without having to direct X-rays at them or perform any other physical experiments.

In the study by Honkala and her team, DFT first confirmed that breaking nitrogen’s triple bond was the most sluggish and energy-demanding step of ammonia synthesis. More importantly, Honkala and her colleagues estimated the number of active sites on the catalyst as a function of its size, a novel breakthrough in the field. As a sanity check for their model, they determined the overall rates of ammonia production under industrial conditions, which agreed incredibly with known values. This level of detailed insight is valuable for catalyst design and optimization, and over half a dozen patents have sprung out of this study. 

What made their findings revolutionary was that they did not rely on any experimental values to fit their model, only using quantum mechanics through DFT to understand the reaction. 

Illustration by Serena Krejci-Papa

The multiple uses of the quantum tool DFT

From uncovering the structure of Earth’s iron core (too deep for any measuring probe to reach) to ruling out trial materials unlikely to become effective drugs, DFT has been advancing science in the background for decades, elucidating complex systems with impressive accuracy. 

Many people believe quantum mechanics yields random, uninterpretable results. But despite its statistical nature and philosophical puzzles, quantum mechanics has delivered tangible, impactful results that shape our world for the better. DFT is proof of that: without synthetic ammonia fertilizers—enabled by catalysts like the one Honkala and her team studied—nearly 4 billion people would go hungry. 

References

Main study of this article

Honkala, K., et al. “Ammonia Synthesis from First-Principles Calculations.” Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), vol. 307, no. 5709, 2005, pp. 555–58, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1106435. 

A follow-up study with Honkala as a coauthor that provided a lot of useful information for this article

Hellman, A., et al. “Predicting Catalysis: Understanding Ammonia Synthesis from First-Principles Calculations.” The Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol. 110, no. 36, 2006, pp. 17719–35, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp056982h. 

Book chapter on DFT that inspired this article, containing useful explanation of the main study

Sholl, David S., and Janice A. Steckel. “What is Density Functional Theory?” Density Functional Theory : A Practical Introduction / David S. Sholl and Jan Steckel. 1st ed., Wiley, 2009.

Article about DFT and Earth’s Inner Core

Cote, A. S., et al. “Ab Initio Lattice Dynamics Calculations on the Combined Effect of Temperature and Silicon on the Stability of Different Iron Phases in the Earth’s Inner Core.” Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, vol. 178, no. 1–2, 2010, pp. 2–7, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2009.07.004.

Statistics about Ammonia’s Energy Consumption

IEA. “Ammonia Technology Roadmap.” The International Energy Agency, 2021, https://www.iea.org/reports/ammonia-technology-roadmap. Accessed 27 June 2025.

Data about Ammonia Fertilizer Use

 “World Population With and Without Synthetic Nitrogen Fertilizers.” Our World in Data, 2015, https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-population-with-and-without-fertilizer. Accessed 27 June 2025.

Photo of Karoliina Honkala: Photo taken by Petteri Kivimäki. Provided by Karoliina Honkala. 

Written by Olivia Castillo, a senior, studying physics and humanities at the University of Texas at Austin.

Illustrations 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. 

Elisa Torres, a Chilean Student That Popularized Quantum Mechanics Among Girls All Over the World

(Olivia Castillo is a physics student and APS JNIPER fellow.)

Her Childhood

For Elisa Torres Durney, every flower, every leaf, and every insect was an opportunity to discover something new. As a child, her parents could never find her inside the house; she was always outside, exploring the marvels of nature. Her parents loved this, even when she brought dirt into their clean house. They believed in the value of education (as long as she was careful) and even gifted her with a pink microscope. This plastic microscope became her window to a new world, as she continued investigating the outside world with a childlike wonder.

However, Elisa’s curiosity was not limited to what she could see through the microscope. She simply loved learning, including the art she learned from her grandfather, a painter. She only needed to observe her grandpa to master advanced techniques and would spend many afternoons at his side, watching the delicate process of mixing colors to tell a vivid story. She still paints today, using the skills she learned from her grandfather.

Thanks to the support of her parents, by the time she started high school, her curiosity remained as strong as ever. She took full advantage of learning opportunities, working in a lab, participating in theater, and asking questions in all her classes. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic brought all of that to a halt.

Her Journey into Quantum Computing

As a teenager during the pandemic, Elisa had too much free time and was very bored, without social interaction and with fewer activities. In the fall of 2021, she enrolled in an online, two-semester quantum computing class, taught by the Coding School and sponsored by a large tech company, IBM. Before the course, Elisa only knew that quantum mechanics was a field of physics that studies tiny things. No one in her life was familiar with quantum computing, not even her mother, who works in technology.

From the first day, the course captivated her. She learned that quantum computing uses the laws of quantum physics to solve certain problems faster than traditional computers. Her professor explained fascinating topics like qubits (a unit of information in quantum computing) and superposition, properties exclusive to quantum physics. 

A simplified explanation of these concepts would be: a normal computer only uses the numbers zero and one to encode information, but in a quantum computer, the information is encoded in a mix of both. Imagine that the qubit is both zero and one at the same time, but also neither zero nor one. The ability to exist in multiple states at the same time is called superposition in quantum mechanics. Then, once the quantum computer reads it, the qubit collapses into a definite state of zero or one. This is an idea that challenges our classical understanding of the natural world! 

In addition to learning theory, Elisa had the chance to dive into the subject through labs. For example, she worked with quantum circuits and programmed with quantum algorithms, important tools in this interdisciplinary field. Most importantly, she made international friends with other students in the program. Despite her friends coming from very different cultures, they all shared the same enthusiasm for quantum computing. Without a doubt, the course was a transformative experience for her. Elisa said, “When you love something, you want to share it.” And that’s exactly what she did.

Girls in Quantum

After the program, she wanted to keep exploring quantum computing and maintain the network she had formed in that class. She also felt inspired to share what she had learned with people who lacked the same opportunities. So, in 2022, she founded Girls in Quantum, an organization to make quantum sciences accessible to girls across the globe through virtual workshops and other free resources.

At first, the organization was only for girls in Chile (the country where she lived). But after seeing that her classmates came from many countries, she felt that Girls in Quantum should go beyond Chile. Evolving into an international organization was a major challenge. It was hard to find time for meetings: while some of her peers were sleeping, others were just waking up. It was also difficult to find experts to collaborate with. They were lucky if, out of hundreds of emails, even one person replied. The most frustrating part was that many adults didn’t take her seriously. When they saw her, they asked Elisa, “Where are your parents?” Even though she was qualified, they doubted her abilities because of her gender and age, but she persisted, and the Girls in Quantum learned how to be organized and flexible.

Currently, there are twenty-seven active countries in Girls in Quantum, from Japan to Egypt! In total, over five thousand young people around the world are learning with the organization. Elisa, who was recently recognized by Forbes “30 under 30” for this work, is motivated by the movement to democratize quantum computing education. She believes that there are many women with potential in the quantum field that simply lack the opportunities and resources they need to succeed. She is determined to change and open doors for the next generation of women in quantum sciences.

This article is part of the American Physical Society’s PhysicsQuest series.

Olivia Castillo is a senior, studying physics and humanities at the University of Texas at Austin.

Jena Celebrated an Exciting Week of Science

Tens of thousands of visitors attended the Highlights of Physics (Highlights der Physik) and the MINT Festival in Jena, Germany.

(The German Physical Society is an IYQ sponsor.)

From September 15 to 20, Jena, Germany, was all about science at the Ernst-Abbe-Platz campus and the Goethe-Galerie. The Highlights of Physics (Highlights der Physik) and the MINT Festival Jena fascinated visitors with a varied program of activities, wonders, and learning. Visitors gained insights into current research in an entertaining and understandable way.

Since 2015, this year marked the second time the Highlights of Physics festival was held in Jena, a premiere in the 25-year history of this science festival. And there was another innovation: the Highlights of Physics took place at the same time as the Jena MINT Festival. It had originated from the first edition of the physics festival in Jena and took place this year for the fourth time.

A look at the physics exhibition at the science festival “Highlights of Physics” on September 17, 2025, at the Goethe Gallery in Jena. The science festival took place for the second time in Jena from September 15 to 20, 2025. Photo: Nicole Nerger/University of Jena

A diverse programme ranging from climate change to quantum physics

At around 60 exhibition stands and displays, visitors of both festivals were able to engage with researchers on a wide range of topics—from floating cakes to how telescopes work and the function of an MRI scanner. One focus of this year’s Highlights of Physics was on current issues relating to climate change and quantum physics.

Astrophysicist and TV presenter Harald Lesch kicked off the diverse lecture program together with the music ensemble “Quadro Nuevo,” which took the audience on a poetic journey through space with its program Sun, Moon, and Stars (Sonne, Mond und Sterne). The finale was also a crowd-puller: in the large physics lecture hall at the University of Jena on Max-Wien-Platz, physicist and science communicator Metin Tolan and the Academic Orchestra Association of the University of Jena, conducted by Sebastian Krahnert, combined science and music with their program Star Trek –Galactic Music with a Bit of Physics (Star Trek–Galactose Musik mit etwas Physik).

Children’s physics theater with ACTeFact (Oliver Diedrich, Osina Jung) at the science festival “Highlights of Physics” on September 19, 2025, at the Goethe Gallery in Jena. The science festival took place for the second time in Jena from September 15 to 20, 2025. Photo: Nicole Nerger/University of Jena

Jena’s example should set a standard

The president of the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, DPG), Prof. Dr. Klaus Richter, was impressed by the double festival in Jena. “The partnership between Highlights of Physics and a regular local event such as the MINT Festival should set a standard for achieving lasting effects,” said the DPG president, while welcoming the remarkable interest shown by state and local politicians in the Highlights of Physics in Jena and Thuringia.

The 2025 Highlights of Physics event was organized by the German Physical Society in collaboration with Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The organizers would like to thank their premium partner, the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation), and all other supporters: the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation, the Helmut Fischer Foundation, and Hitachi.

The MINT Festival Jena was supported by the main sponsors ZEISS and dotSource SE, as well as by the Impulsregion Erfurt, Jena, Weimar, and Weimarer Land, together with Jena Wirtschaft and the City of Jena as the main sponsor, and JENOPTIK AG as the gold sponsor.

2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) Wins Organization of the Year at Quantum World Congress

Tysons, VA, United States, September 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), designated by the United Nations’ UNESCO, was selected as Organization of the Year by Quantum World Congress 2025 and announced at the conference.

The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the study of quantum mechanics to help raise public awareness of the importance and impact of quantum science and applications on all aspects of life. IYQ also aims to inspire the next generation of quantum scientists and improve the future quantum workforce by focusing on education and outreach.

The 2025 Organization of the Year award is one of four prestigious Quantum Leadership Awards selected by a panel of senior global leaders from government, academia, and industry.

In accepting the award, Dr. Paul Cadden-Zimansky, one of the IYQ Global Coordinators, said, “IYQ would not have worked without the dozens of countries, hundreds of institutions, and thousands of people across the globe who believed in the mission of using the centennial of quantum mechanics as an occasion to improve public awareness of how central quantum is to our world.

“I think everyone who is putting in time and effort to make IYQ a reality, from individuals independently initiating their own small events to leaders who got their institutions and companies behind it, share in this award and can take it as an encouragement to continue the mission of illuminating quantum science and technology for all as we enter the next quantum century.” Jonathan Bagger, CEO of the American Physical Society (APS), administrator of the year-long, worldwide initiative, added, “We are delighted that IYQ has been named the 2025 Organization of the Year as part of the Quantum Leadership Awards. By celebrating the contributions of quantum science to technological progress over the past century, this campaign has raised global awareness of how this vibrant research field can help address the world’s most pressing challenges.”

The award to IYQ was in recognition of the difference the initiative has made in driving awareness of science, research, and commercialization, and showing how quantum science and technology are used to advance vital missions.

About Quantum World Congress

Quantum World Congress 2025 was held at Capitol One Hall in Tysons, Virginia. The event is a global exposition and networking event that connects quantum leaders from around the world to discuss innovation and future implications within a holistic ecosystem, which includes industry, academia, government, finance, philanthropy, and community.

About the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology

The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology (IYQ) to mark the 100th anniversary of the study of quantum mechanics, and to help raise public awareness of the importance and impact of quantum science and applications on all aspects of life. It also aims to inspire the next generation of quantum scientists and improve the future quantum workforce by focusing on education and outreach. Anyone, anywhere, can participate in IYQ by helping others to learn more about quantum or simply taking the time to learn more about it themselves. More about IYQ can be found at quantum2025.org.

PR published in EIN Presswire.

Featured picture: Quantum World Congress.

Quantum Turns 100—and the UK Is Throwing a Week-Long Celebration

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.

📅 Quantum Week: 3–7 November 2025
 🔗 Learn more: www.iop.org/quantum-week
 📝 Register for events (Nov 4–5): iop.eventsair.com/qst2025
 ⏳ Registration deadline: 20 October 2025

The History of Light and the Birth of Quantum Physics

(Richard Sottie is a physics student and APS JNIPER fellow.)

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. 

Announcement of Quantum Season at Science Gallery London

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).

How Quantum Principles are Transforming Chemistry

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.

**

Works Cited

Scientific Papers

Gacon, Julien, et al. “Dual-frame optimization for gate-model quantum programs with applications to protein folding.” Physical Review Research, vol. 6, no. 4, 2024, https://journals.aps.org/prresearch/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.043020.

Kohn, Nathan, et al. “Quantum-enhanced Markov chain Monte Carlo.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.04070, 2024, https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.04070.

Blog Posts

Microsoft Azure Quantum Blog. “Accelerating materials discovery with AI and Azure Quantum Elements.” Microsoft Azure, 9 Aug. 2023, http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/quantum/2023/08/09/accelerating-materials-discovery-with-ai-and-azure-quantum-elements/.

World Economic Forum. “How quantum computing could accelerate drug development.” World Economic Forum, Jan. 2025, https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/quantum-computing-drug-development/#:~:text=Quantum%20computing%2C%20by%20optimizing%20processes,to%20their%20specific%20biological%20profiles.

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.