By André König, David Shaw, and Doug Finke
The United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and technology. This gives us all a chance to reflect on the many great individuals who have made contributions to the development of this remarkable field over the last 100 years. Global Quantum Intelligence celebrates its own heroes.
Global Quantum Intelligence follows the wider quantum technology sector globally. In looking at the commercial potential of this great technology we are constantly reminded of the many capabilities required to bring it to market. Whether in quantum computing, quantum communications or quantum sensing, a complete stack of capabilities is required: the qubit plane, the control plane, control logic, an architecture for the overall device, a framework to allow it to be usefully harnessed, algorithms and applications to give purpose.
GQI has selected one quantum hero to celebrate for each of these layers of the stack.
Qubit Plane – Neils Bohr (1885 – 1962)
Quantum Mechanics had many fathers: Max Planck introduced the concept of quantized energy in 1900. Albert Einstein explained the photoelectric effect in 1905 demonstrating that light behaves as particles. Louis de Broglie proposed wave-particle duality for matter in 1924.
Werner Heisenberg formulated matrix mechanics in 1925. Erwin Schrödinger developed wave mechanics in 1926, introducing the Schrödinger equation, and Max Born introduced the Born rule. Wolfgang Pauli formulated the Pauli exclusion principle and in 1927 Pauli spinor matrices.Paul Dirac unified quantum mechanics with special relativity in 1928 predicting the existence of antimatter.
However for us one individual stands out. Neils Bohr’s insightful leap created the model of the atom that is still used in explaining qubits today. It was also Bohr who faced down Einstein and pushed others to take the new formalism seriously as a fundamental proscription for our most profound natural laws.
He helped establish the core philosophical and theoretical pillars of quantum mechanics (such as complementarity, the Copenhagen interpretation, and the measurement postulate). These pillars, in turn, underpin all of quantum information science. Although the specific term “qubit” and its formal use in quantum computing and quantum communication emerged many decades after Bohr’s most active period, Bohr’s foundational insights were indispensable in preparing the intellectual landscape from which the qubit concept eventually arose.
Control Plane – Charles H. Townes (1915 – 2015)
Different quantum platforms use a variety of control techniques. However, one technology stands out as uniquely pervasive and influential: that of photonics. The power of this field, of immense importance in its own right, rests on the invention of the laser. In the early 1950s Charles H Townes was the first to conceive the principle for what would become the maser (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) and later the laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation).
By providing a readily controllable source of high-quality, high-stability light, lasers have been a foundational driver for the rapidly growing field of photonics. The frequency flexibility and tunability of such sources, together with convenient techniques for their distribution and routing from optical fibre to integrated photonic circuits, have made them indispensable tools for the control and readout of many quantum platforms.
Control Logic – Erwin Hahn (1921 – 2016)
Techniques for quantum control are essential for error suppression. The increasingly sophisticated protocols we see today have their roots in the Hahn spin echo and dynamic decoupling techniques developed in the context of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Erwin Hahn’s work has already made a big contribution in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and its influence now continues across quantum technology.
Erwin Hahn’s spin echo discovery fundamentally changed our understanding of how quantum systems lose coherence—and how that loss can be mitigated or reversed. This breakthrough underlies modern pulse-control techniques used in NMR, MRI, and, crucially, quantum computing and quantum sensing. Hahn’s legacy in coherent control and decoupling is indispensable to the electronics and methods by which we manipulate and maintain quantum states in today’s cutting-edge quantum technologies.
Architecture – Hermann Weyl (1885 – 1955)
A key challenge as we scale quantum systems is to apply quantum error correction techniques to suppress logical errors. Hermann Wely’s profound contribution was to introduce the notion of ‘gauge invariance’ as connection between mathematical structure and natural laws. The mathematics of gauge theory remains important in QEC innovation today, and continues to hint at the possibly profound connections of this field beyond the mere correction of computational errors.
Hermann Weyl contributed directly to the foundations of quantum mechanics via his work on the Weyl-Heisenberg group, but he never worked on “quantum technology” in the modern sense. However, his deep mathematical contributions, especially in group theory, representation theory, continues to profoundly shape how we understand and architect quantum systems today.
Framework – John Stewart Bell (1928 – 1990)
Ultimately we need techniques to make quantum devices useful: from the protocols of quantum cryptography to the circuit model of quantum computing. A key initial step on this journey was John Bell’s famous ‘inequality’. This showed us that quantum systems could in principle do things that were mathematically impossible with mere classical resources.
- Nonlocality as a Design Principle: By establishing that quantum entanglement transcends local hidden-variable theories, Bell gave quantum technologists a theoretical foundation to exploit entanglement for communication, computation, and security.
- Device-Independent Security: Bell inequalities form the backbone of protocols that require no trust in the specifics of device implementations—enabling ultra-secure quantum cryptography.
- Certification and Benchmarking: Bell tests and related techniques offer powerful tools to verify the genuineness of quantum hardware, essential for building confidence in scaled-up quantum systems.
In short, John Stewart Bell’s 1964 theorem—and its ongoing experimental confirmations—has anchored how quantum technologies define, detect, and leverage entanglement. At the framework layer, his work shapes the theoretical, security, and verification structures that guide the development and deployment of quantum devices, ensuring that genuine quantum advantage (rooted in nonlocal correlations) can be recognized and reliably harnessed.
Algorithms – Peter Shor (1959 – )
Quantum computers are nothing without the special algorithms that promise to allow them to tackle otherwise intractable problems. Nothing has been more important in accelerating and ensuring sustained interest in the field than Peter Shor’s discovery of his eponymous algorithm for integer factorization and discrete logarithms. Both of which problems are at teh heart of much of the cryptography we use today.
Shor’s name has become synonymous with the promise and challenge of quantum computation: on one hand, unleashing (almost) exponential computational speedups; on the the other he also made foundational contributions on quantum error correction, being among the first to point the way to how delicate quantum systems can be protected.
Applications – Richard Feynman (1918 – 1988)
Quantum technology is set to have many and diverse impacts. However one stands out as the flagship applications repeatedly highlighted by most quantum experts. It was Richard Feynman’s original insight to identify quantum computers as an essential resource to allow the simulation and modelling of other quantum systems. That has implications for materials, chemistry and all of physics. That turns out to be most things.
His vision set the stage for quantum simulation as a prime candidate to demonstrate quantum advantage and tackle problems in chemistry, materials design, and physics that elude classical supercomputers. Beyond simulation, Feynman’s broader influence—his curiosity-driven, boundary-challenging approach—continues to shape the development and application of quantum technologies across the board.
As we embark on the International Year of Quantum, we celebrate not just the remarkable progress of quantum science—spanning from the foundational insights of Bohr, Hahn, Townes, and Weyl to the present-day pioneers of quantum computing—but also the shared human spirit that made these breakthroughs possible. Quantum technologies remind us how curiosity transcends borders and disciplines, uniting physicists, engineers, mathematicians, and visionaries around a single, profound endeavor: to harness the most subtle forces of nature for the betterment of society.
In honoring this global collaborative effort, we acknowledge that the story of quantum exploration is far from over. It is an unfolding journey—one that continually invites fresh ideas, renewed determination, and the courage to challenge what we think we know. Under UNESCO’s banner, the International Year of Quantum is more than a tribute to scientific milestones; it is an invitation to the world to learn, to innovate, and to participate in shaping a future where quantum insights open doors to solutions we have yet to imagine. May this year inspire us all to dream bigger, delve deeper, and build a brighter tomorrow through the transformative power of quantum science.
Global Quantum Intelligence welcomes the International Year of Quantum as an official strategic partner and joins the field in celebrating these and the many other great individuals that have contributed to its foundations and continue to contribute to its development today.
February 4, 2025
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