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Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 Awarded to Clarke, Devoret and Martinis for Quantum Tunnelling Breakthroughs

The award honors mid‑1980s superconducting‑circuit experiments that made quantum effects tangible on chips, laying groundwork for quantum computing, cryptography, sensors.

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The trio were won the Nobel for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
FILE - A Nobel Prize medal is displayed before a ceremony at the Swedish Ambassador's Residence in London, Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John Martinis are announced as winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, at the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institutet, in Stockholm, on Tuesday.

Overview

  • The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
  • The laureates conducted pivotal work in 1984–85 using Josephson‑junction superconducting circuits to show tunnelling and discrete energy levels at a device scale.
  • John Clarke worked at UC Berkeley, Michel H. Devoret at Yale and UC Santa Barbara, and John M. Martinis at UC Santa Barbara, with reports noting all three are based in the United States.
  • The Nobel committee said the findings open opportunities for next‑generation quantum technology, including quantum computers, cryptography, and ultra‑sensitive sensors.
  • The trio will share 11 million Swedish kronor, with medals and diplomas to be presented in Stockholm on December 10; Clarke called the news “the surprise of my life.”