Just now, the 2021 "Mozi Quantum Award" was announced, awarded to the field of observation of quantum effects in superconducting devices. The three winners are John Clarke of the University of California, Berkeley, Michel H. Devoret of Yale University, and Yasunobu Nakamura of the Riken Institute of Chemistry in Japan. The award was "in recognition of their pioneering of a range of early key technologies in superconducting quantum circuits and qubits as a leader."
("Mozi Salon" will introduce the work of the winners tomorrow)
Biography of the winners
Born in 1942, John Clark received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1964 and 1968, respectively, and is now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
He has made significant contributions to superconductivity and superconducting electronics, especially in the development and application of SQUID (superconducting quantum interference devices). SQUID is an ultra-sensitive magnetic flux detector that plays a key role in cutting-edge science and technology such as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, quantum basic research, and cold dark matter search. His team also observed for the first time the quantization of energy levels in mesoscopic systems: they experimentally demonstrated that just like atoms, individual Josephson junctions also have discrete energy levels.
Born in 1953, Michel de Voore received his bachelor's and doctorate degrees from the Ecole Supérieure de Telecommunications in Paris and the University of Paris XI in 1982, respectively, and is now a professor at Yale University.
His main research interests are experimental solid-state physics, particularly cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum electronics, quantum computing, and the physics of superconducting circuits in quantum sensing. He made important contributions to the use of superconducting circuits to achieve quantum information processing.
Born in 1968, Nakamura received his B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1990 and 2011, respectively, and is now a professor at the Riken Institute of Riken, Japan.
His main research interests are in quantum electronics in superconducting circuits and hybrid quantum systems, with a particular focus on the manipulation and measurement of quantum states in electronics and optics. In 1999, he and his collaborators demonstrated the coherent control of qubits in solid-state electronic devices.
Mozi Quantum Award introduction
(From the official website of the Mozi Quantum Award)
Since its establishment at the beginning of the last century, quantum mechanics has become a pillar of modern natural science technology and socio-economic development. Over the past hundred years, quantum theory has been a great success in revealing and applying the laws of the microscopic world. On the one hand, it has made a subversive change in the classical world outlook of mankind; on the other hand, the invention and wide application of major technologies based on quantum theory such as semiconductors, atomic energy, nuclear magnetic resonance, lasers, superconductivity, and giant magnetoresistance have enabled mankind to achieve unprecedented development in the fields of material science, information science and life science, and promoted the unprecedented progress of material civilization. This is also known as the first quantum revolution.
It is worth pointing out that many of the major inventions produced by the first quantum revolution are mainly based on passive observation of quantum laws, which is a top-down application of the macroscopic embodiment of quantum laws. As scientists have conducted in-depth research on the basic problems of quantum physics (such as quantum superposition and quantum entanglement, etc.) and their association with information theory, not only have a deeper understanding of the laws of the microscopic world, but also the experimental ability under extreme conditions continues to improve, so that human beings have been able to directly prepare, accurately manipulate and measure the state of a single quantum object (photons, atoms, molecules, electrons, etc.), and can actively regulate the interaction between multiple quantum objects, so that it can be in a new way" Bottom-up" approach to understanding and transforming the world using quantum laws. This means that the practice of human understanding and transformation of the world has reached a new historical height.
As a systematic application of quantum regulation technology, quantum information science — including quantum communication, quantum computing, quantum precision measurement, etc. — can break through the bottleneck of classical technology in ensuring information security, improving computing speed, and improving measurement accuracy, and become the source of major technological innovation in the fields of energy, information, materials and life, providing a core strategic force for ensuring national security and supporting the sustainable development of the national economy. The rapid development of quantum regulation and quantum information technology marks the rise of the second quantum revolution.
In order to promote the scientific research of quantum information technology, especially the development of the second quantum revolution, Chinese private entrepreneurs generously donated 100 million yuan to establish the "Mozi Quantum Technology Foundation". The Foundation established the "Mozi Quantum Award", which strictly selects and commends scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of quantum communication, quantum simulation, quantum computing and quantum precision measurement through extensive invitation to nominate and international expert review. Each winner of the Mozi Quantum Prize will receive a prize of RMB 1.25 million (approximately US$150,000 after tax) and a gold medal.
For a detailed description of the scientific background and work of the winners of the 2021 Mozi Quantum Award, please visit the official website http://miciusprize.org.
（copyright: Micius Prize Office）
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