Building awareness and inspiring a future workforce are two aims of the UN-designated quantum year.

Hands-on demonstrations of quantum entanglement, role-playing diplomacy games, continental-scale shindigs, and more activities for the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) are coming into focus. Last June, the United Nations declared 2025 the IYQ; since then, scientists, educators, and science lovers have been buzzing with ideas for how to celebrate the past century of quantum physics and its applications and look ahead to the next one.

The UN imprimatur lends visibility and legitimacy to efforts to raise awareness about quantum science and technology. It also comes with a commitment to the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals—affordable and clean energy, quality education, and gender equality, to name a few. Many quantum-related activities are underway independent of the IYQ, says Enrica Porcari, head of CERN’s IT department and a member of the IYQ steering committee. But the IYQ will “turbocharge” efforts, she says. “I think 2025 will see an explosion of events.”

Quantum-based technologies are already ubiquitous, and many more applications in computing, communications, and sensing are on the horizon. “In physics, everyone understands how central quantum mechanics has become, but that’s not the case for the public,” says Paul Cadden-Zimansky, the physicist at Bard College who set the ball rolling that eventually resulted in the UN declaration and who is an IYQ global coordinator.

The IYQ can be called a success, Porcari says, if by the end of the year, people in quantum-underserved countries are saying, “I wouldn’t miss this revolution.”

Global events

The official IYQ launch is scheduled for 4–5 February at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters. The event will introduce the year by focusing on the future of quantum science and technology, says Claudia Fracchiolla, head of public engagement at the American Physical Society, which is one of the six founding sponsors of the IYQ. The event, she says, will focus on questions like, What do policymakers need to think about? How will developments based on quantum physics benefit society? What education and workforce training are needed to prepare for the quantum revolution? What are the ethical considerations? Science ministers, Nobel Prize winners, educators, social scientists, and others will speak at the event.

The IYQ sponsors, which have grown to include a couple dozen professional societies, foundations, universities, and companies from around the world, are planning a global event on each continent. Beyond that, the idea is to galvanize grassroots organization of activities large and small.

In March, the American Physical Society will host activities to celebrate the IYQ before and during its Global Physics Summit in Anaheim, California. Some activities, such as a quantum playground and treasure hunt, will be largely directed toward conference goers, but many will be public facing. Events will include dance and theater performances, art exhibits, an escape room, and a real-time demonstration of Bose–Einstein condensates being synthesized aboard the International Space Station.

One of the global events will likely take place in Ghana, which, along with Mexico, played a key role in bringing the IYQ proposal to the UN. Riche-Mike Wellington, Ghana’s focal person for the IYQ, says that training workshops and conferences, public awareness campaigns, and other activities are being planned in partnership with industry, educators, and policymakers. The aim of IYQ activities, he says, is to “inspire future leaders and innovators in quantum science, driving economic growth and enhancing the quality of life for Ghanaians and Africans at large” and to bridge the “noticeable divide between the technologically rich North and the less-developed South.”

Grassroots activities

In India, physics historian and museum director Jahnavi Phalkey is planning a yearlong quantum festival at Science Gallery Bengaluru. The preparations began last fall with a mathematician-artist who spent several weeks at the gallery creating quantum physics–inspired art. There will be installations, performances, and a beverage bar, called h-bar for Planck’s constant. “The purpose is to create a sense of wonderment around quantum, not necessarily to explain it,” says Phalkey. “It’s to remind ourselves of the sheer beauty of what the mind is capable of.”

People who have been involved in World Quantum Day, now in its fourth year, have a bit of a head start. The celebration has representatives in more than 60 countries. World Quantum Day is officially 14 April, but events take place on and around that date. Past activities have included explanatory video competitions for high school students, campaigns to translate “World Quantum Day” into many languages, museum talks that explore how quantum physics plays a role in people’s day-to-day lives, and the creation of YouTube and other social media content.

Around the world, people at schools, museums, companies, and more are planning live and remote lectures, inviting students to intern in labs that do quantum-related research, hosting hackathons, and putting on events in which quantum science and art interact. If the UN-designated 2015 International Year of Light is anything to go by, expect upward of 13 000 events this year. Anyone can post an IYQ event or look up what’s going on near them at https://quantum2025.org/en/event-resource.

---

This piece was published by the American Institute of Physics.

Global initiative aims to attract younger generation, accelerate quantum science in developing countries and build public awareness.

PARIS, FRANCE, January 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — A distinguished lineup that includes high-level government officials, Nobel Laureates, academic leaders and top quantum company executives from across the globe will gather in Paris on February 4 and 5 at UNESCO headquarters to kick off the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). The United Nations initiative aims to elevate public understanding of the major role quantum science and technology will play in our world.

Dignitaries from nearly two dozen countries will speak at the opening ceremony as hundreds of events, both grand and grassroots, are planned to unfold across six continents throughout the year.

Day 1 will feature keynotes, fireside chats and panel discussions that explore topics of critical concern to the world with a special emphasis on sustainability, including:

– Opening remarks by government ministers from a number of nations including Ghana, which played a leading role in designating 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 

“Global initiatives like IYQ are essential to ensure that people from all corners of the world can understand and harness the incredible potential of quantum computing.”

— Dr. Krysta Svore, Technical Fellow and Vice President of Microsoft QuantumPARIS, FRANCE, January 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ — A distinguished lineup that includes high-level government officials, Nobel Laureates, academic leaders and top quantum company executives from across the globe will gather in Paris on February 4 and 5 at UNESCO headquarters to kick off the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). The United Nations initiative aims to elevate public understanding of the major role quantum science and technology will play in our world.

Dignitaries from nearly two dozen countries will speak at the opening ceremony as hundreds of events, both grand and grassroots, are planned to unfold across six continents throughout the year.

Day 1 will feature keynotes, fireside chats and panel discussions that explore topics of critical concern to the world with a special emphasis on sustainability, including:

– Opening remarks by government ministers from a number of nations including Ghana, which played a leading role in designating 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

– Talks by Nobel Laureates in physics: Anne L’Huillier, 2023; Alain Aspect, 2022; and William D. Phillips, 1997
– Remarks from IYQ steering committee co-chair Sir Peter Knight of Imperial College London, and John Doyle, president of the American Physical Society (APS)

Led by UNESCO officials with international participation, Day 2 focuses on ethics in quantum technology, with two interactive panels exploring responsible quantum innovation.

Exhibits, which will include hands-on demonstrations from top companies and organizations in quantum tech, will be open throughout the opening ceremony.

After the United Nations’ IYQ declaration in June 2024, the IYQ Steering Committee, an international consortium of scientists and policymakers, was created with the mission of encouraging a year-long celebration to build a vibrant and inclusive global science community.  

Sponsor support of IYQ is being led by Microsoft which announced its Quantum Ready initiative for the year earlier this month. SC Quantum & QLLIANSE is also a leading partner. Other key corporate sponsors include Quantinuum, IBM, Google, D-Wave Systems, DRS Daylight Solutions, plus numerous industry associations, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations and companies.  

IYQ founding scientific partners are the American Physical Society (APS), Chinese Optical Society, Optica, Institute of Physics, Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

“Quantum science and technology hold extraordinary promise for addressing global challenges,” said Lidia Arthur Brito, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Science. “As we launch the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, UNESCO is proud to lead this unique opportunity to inspire the next generation of quantum pioneers, particularly young women and talents from developing countries, ensuring that quantum advances benefit all of humanity and drive sustainable development worldwide.”

“Advancements in quantum technology are accelerating rapidly, and we stand on the brink of a transformative era,” said Dr. Krysta Svore, Technical Fellow and Vice President of Microsoft Quantum. “Global initiatives like IYQ are essential to ensure that people from all corners of the world can understand and harness the incredible potential of quantum computing. By fostering widespread awareness and education, we can collectively prepare to leverage this revolutionary technology for the benefit of all humanity.”

“We are at the advent of the reliable quantum computing era, making this a critical time for business and government leaders to better understand the application and real-world business value quantum will open up,” said Mitra Azizirad, President and Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft, Strategic Missions and Technologies. “We are excited to partner with UNESCO and APS to support the International Year of Quantum and engage with communities across the world to scale awareness on how quantum science and applications will transform industries.”

In designating 2025 as IYQ, the United Nations noted that quantum science can have a tremendous impact on addressing long-standing problems of sustainability, such as climate, energy, food safety and security, and clean water. 

Events throughout the year will focus on all generations, on six continents. Quantum education among K-12 and university students will help inspire the vital next generation of quantum pioneers. Outreach events will aim to bring the esoteric nature of quantum into focus with activities at regional, national and international levels. Some events, such as a year-long quantum festival at the Science Gallery Bengaluru, will use the arts to create wonder surrounding quantum science.

Among the signature events will be the APS Global Physics Summit March 16-21, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif., where many physics innovations that apply the principles of quantum science and technology will be prominent. Other major IYQ events surround World Quantum Day on April 14. 

While major events are planned, organizers explain that the many small-scale, grassroots events will be just as important to the success of IYQ.

“The study and control of quantum mechanical systems has led to transformative technologies in navigation (GPS), medical imaging (MRI), and computation. The next quantum revolution is underway and we are already enhancing fields like secure communications and biological sensing,” said APS President John Doyle. “We’re excited to accelerate this progress and believe IYQ will play a valuable role in spreading the message.”

Anyone, anywhere, may submit an event or learn more at quantum2025.org.

About the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology

The UN 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. 

About the American Physical Society (APS)

The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance physics by fostering a vibrant, inclusive and global community dedicated to science and society. APS represents 50,000 global members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories and industry in the United States and around the world. More information is available at aps.org.  

A century ago, physics had its Darwinian moment—a change in perspective that was as consequential for the physical sciences as the theory of evolution by natural selection was for biology.

(Nature is an IYQ sponsor.)

It is rare for a scientific idea or theory to fundamentally change our perspective on reality. One such revolutionary moment is being celebrated in 2025, which the United Nations has declared to be the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. This marks the centenary of the advent of quantum mechanics, which began in a flurry of papers 100 years ago. Just as it would be impossible to make sense of modern biology without Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, our fundamental understanding of the physical world is now rooted in quantum principles. Modern physics is quantum physics.

The word quantum refers to the way matter absorbs or releases energy—in discrete packets, or quanta. Its use in physics comes from the German word quant, which is derived from a Latin term meaning ‘how much.’ In around 1900, physicists such as Max Planck and Albert Einstein began to describe, in an ad hoc way, why several phenomena of the subatomic realm could not be explained using the classical mechanics developed by Isaac Newton and others some two centuries earlier. Then, in 1925, quantum came to be used to describe the fundamentals of an entirely new form of mechanics—the branch of physics that describes the relationship between forces and the motion of physical objects.

As science historian Kristian Camilleri describes in an Essay on the startling developments of that year and those that followed, the physicist Werner Heisenberg traveled to the German island of Heligoland in the North Sea in the summer of 1925 in search of relief from severe hay fever. Shortly after this, he submitted to the journal Zeitschrift für Physik a paper whose title translates as ‘On quantum-theoretical reinterpretation of kinematic and mechanical relationships’ (W. Heisenberg Z. Physik 33, 879–893; 1925). This prompted further studies in the following months by Heisenberg and his close collaborators, as well as work using an alternative approach by Erwin Schrödinger.

The revolution did not begin with physicists throwing away the laws of classical mechanics but with their radically reinterpreting classical concepts such as energy and momentum. However, it did require its initiators to abandon dearly held common-sense ideas — for example, the expectation that subatomic objects such as particles have a well-defined position and momentum at any given time. Instead, the physicists found that natural phenomena had an inherent unknowable nature. Classical physics, in other words, is only an approximate representation of reality, and manifests itself only at the macroscopic level. A century on, this insight into the nature of the physical world still thrills and bamboozles in equal measures. Many Nature readers will know about the philosophical quandaries raised by quantum cats that are simultaneously dead and alive, and about the industry that is growing around quantum computing.

Others will know how quantum ideas gave rise to the lasers that beam information through the cables of the Internet, and the transistors that provide the processing power of electronic chips. But quantum ideas also shape our understanding of nature, at all levels, explaining why solid objects don’t fall apart and how stars shine and, ultimately, die.

A quantum year

Commemorative events are being planned all over the world for the coming 12 months. They include an opening ceremony for the UN year at the headquarters of the UN scientific organization UNESCO in Paris in February; special events at a meeting of the American Physical Society in Anaheim, California, in March; and a workshop for physicists on Heligoland in June. The organizers’ collective ambition is to celebrate not just the centenary of quantum mechanics, but also the science and applications that arose from it in the past century — and to explore how quantum physics might bring further change in the century to come.

In May, Ghana, the country that originally proposed that the UN proclaim 2025 the year of quantum science, is hosting an international conference on the topic in Kumasi. And in August, science historians will meet to celebrate the quantum century in Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.

This meeting will be the high point of a 20-year research programme that set out to re-examine the development of quantum theory. One major aim of that work, says historian Michel Janssen at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, was to establish the contributions of a collective of scientists, many of whom — particularly women — have not been recognized in the history of the field.

These “hidden figures” include Lucy Mensing, who was a member of the same group as Heisenberg and worked out some of the first applications of his quantum-mechanical theory, says Daniela Monaldi, a historian at York University in Toronto, Canada. One of the most notable events of the year will be the publication of a biographical volume of essays on 16 of them, Women in the History of Quantum Physics.

For all that it has already brought, the quantum revolution still has unfinished business. In the years in which researchers were laying the foundations of quantum mechanics, they also began to rebuild other branches of physics — such as the study of electromagnetism, and states of matter — from quantum foundations. They also looked to extend their theories to encompass objects that move at close to light speed, something that the original quantum theory did not. These efforts drastically expanded the scope of quantum science and led researchers to develop the standard model of particles and fields, a process that finally came together in the 1970s.

The standard model has been incredibly successful, culminating in the 2012 discovery of its linchpin elementary particle, the Higgs boson. But these extensions lie on less-solid theoretical ground than quantum mechanics does — and leave several phenomena unexplained, such as the nature of the ‘dark matter’ that seems to greatly outweigh conventional, visible matter in the wider cosmos. Moreover, one important phenomenon, gravity, still resists being quantized.

Other conceptual problems of quantum physics remain open. In particular, researchers struggle to understand what exactly happens when experiments ‘collapse’ the fuzzy probabilities of quantum objects into one precise measurement, a key step in creating the — still remorselessly classical — macroscopic world we live in. Over the past few decades, researchers have been developing ways to turn these quirks of quantum reality into useful technologies. The resulting applications in computing, ultra-secure communications, and innovative scientific instruments are still in their nascent stages.

Quantum theory keeps on giving. This year is an opportunity to celebrate and to make the broader public aware of the role that quantum physics has in their lives — and to inspire future generations, whoever they are and wherever they are in the world, to contribute to another quantum century.

This piece was published first in Nature.

Featured image: Quantum theory helped to explain how the energy levels of an atom split in a magnetic field, a phenomenon known as the Zeeman effect.Credit: Harsh Vardhan Dewangan/Shutterstock.

(Microsoft is an IYQ sponsor.)

We find ourselves in an exciting and pivotal time. We are at the advent of the reliable quantum computing era. This past November, Microsoft successfully created and entangled 24 logical qubits in collaboration with Atom Computing. As our industry looks toward the next 12 months, the pace of quantum research and development is only going to accelerate, making this a critical and catalyzing time for business leaders to act. We’re seeing a growing need for business leaders to have the information and tools to understand better the depth of these amazing technical breakthroughs and the business applications and value they open up. In a business decision-maker study, 12% said their organizations were prepared to assess quantum opportunities. Clearly, there is an urgent need for leaders to get more information and better understand how technical advancements in quantum will enable real-world impact.    

Leaders in global companies, investment funds, and governments across the world are making multi-billion-dollar investments in quantum computing. Those organizations that are in the throes of planning a comprehensive quantum-ready strategy are creating durable, competitive differentiation for their organizations and positioning themselves to harness the full power of quantum as it scales. Clearly, without strategic readiness, it’s a challenging proposition for leaders to assess the risks and returns, or to design effective and responsible quantum strategies that are necessary to create a full-on quantum roadmap for their organization.

This is why at Microsoft we are excited to announce our new Quantum-Ready program, designed to address these exact challenges by providing business leaders with the insights and tools needed to:

1. Build practical, high-impact hybrid applications.
2. Invest in strategic skilling and access to reliable quantum computers for experimentation.
3. Embrace quantum safety and focus on cryptographic agility.
4. Prepare for scale such that your investments are future-proofed.

Becoming quantum-ready is both a business and a global imperative. In fact, the United Nations announced 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), reflecting the transformative impact quantum mechanics has had in the past century, and setting the stage for the next wave of quantum innovation. As part of this global initiative, Microsoft will be a leading partner with the IYQ, along with the American Physical Society (APS), to celebrate 100 years of quantum innovation. We are so excited to partner with APS and other leading institutions to support the IYQ as it engages with communities from across the world to scale awareness of how quantum science and applications will transform industries.

Hybrid applications: Business value and security for today and tomorrow

Given the rapid pace of innovation, it’s critical that organizations start exploring, identifying, and building an application roadmap that sets them up for success in a quantum future. Doing so will clarify where and when quantum will provide tangible business value and guide both how and, to what degree, you should invest to become quantum-ready today.

Through our Quantum Ready program, leaders will have an opportunity to engage with Microsoft in one-on-one workshops and industry-specific forums to accelerate their strategic readiness and identify high-value use cases. We hope to bring learnings that result from these industry-specific forums to the broader ecosystem to provide practical insights in the form of custom industry outlook reports to help guide your organization’s leadership and company strategy.

Additionally, business leaders need to start preparing for a quantum-safe future; not because there is an immediate threat but because a transition to emerging cryptographic standards will take time. Security is a top priority at Microsoft—this is why we established the Microsoft Quantum Safe Program to enable security alignment from both business and technical perspectives.

Cultivating a quantum-ready culture: Skilling and vision for the hybrid era

Cultivating a culture of innovation begins with robust workforce skilling and training, empowering teams with the knowledge and mindset to embrace quantum-enabled possibilities. Putting this mindset into practice requires providing access to a unified hybrid platform integrating resilient quantum computing, classical supercomputing, and AI. Especially when 76% of leaders indicate that a quantum skills crisis is causing a deceleration in innovation, the organizations that can harness the power of these complementary technologies—and who understand their use is not a matter of either or, but when and how—are in a distinct position to stay ahead.

Our Quantum Ready program will offer different skilling and training opportunities to help prepare business and government leaders with resources, frameworks, and tools they need to:

• Understand why quantum technology is positioned to help revolutionize your business operations, talent strategies, and infrastructure.
• Gain an early-mover competitive edge by creating a quantum strategy that aligns the technology’s potential with your specific business and innovation goals.
• Explore deep insight and guidance into the impact quantum computing will make in your industry and what it means for your organization.

Acting for success: Preparation for scale with the right partner

So, where and how should organizations start? Navigating the many skilling, strategy, and culture considerations is not easy, and it requires the right partners: those with experience putting state-of-the-art hybrid tools into practice with real-world, impactful applications; those who carefully consider the risks quantum pose and are working to mitigate them with leading security solutions and commitments to safe use; and finally, those with an open ecosystem approach to future-proof your investments.

From envisioning new use cases and identifying co-innovation opportunities to receiving first access to visionary industry insights, outlook reports, skilling, workshops, and other exciting new programs to come, sign up here to join Microsoft’s Quantum Ready program. We look forward to connecting with you soon! 

Mitra Azizirad is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Strategic Missions and Technologies @ Microsoft.

This piece was published first on the Microsoft website.