29.01.2025 • News

The quantum year 2025 has started in Germany

The public event at Humboldt University Berlin kicked off on January 14 with 450 participants on site and a further 400 via livestream.

Last year, on the initiative of a group of countries with the support of the German Physical Society (DPG), the American Physical Society, SPIE, the Chinese Optical Society and Optica, the United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. The DPG took the lead in Germany and launched the activities for the quantum year on its 180th birthday in Berlin.

With the national opening event of the International Year of Quantum Science...

Nobel Laureate in Physics Wolfgang Ketterle gave an insight into the impressive...

Logo des Internationalen Jahres der Quantenwissenschaft und -technologie der Unesco (Bild: Unesco / Wiley)

At the public event in cooperation with the Humboldt University of Berlin, Nobel Prize winner Wolfgang Ketterle will give a lecture on the social value of quantum science and its future applications. The panel discussion "Quantum Physics: The Next 100 Years", moderated by YouTuber Jacob Beautemps, then delved deeper into the topic.

The scientific evening event "Quantum Legacies: Grappling with Quantum Theory over a Turbulent Century" took place at Magnus-Haus Berlin. In his keynote speech, science historian David Kaiser explained the circumstances and contexts of physics in the 20th century, which were also characterized by the Cold War, fascism and nuclear threats. He also focused on the interaction between the generations, as young physicists in particular - just in their mid-twenties like today's students and doctoral candidates - had a decisive influence on the development of quantum mechanics.

Further events and projects will follow over the course of the year: "The offers are aimed at anyone who is curious about quantum phenomena; schoolchildren, scientists, artists and anyone interested in art and generally anyone who is interested in physics. We cover a wide variety of topics throughout the year, which not only play a role in research, industry or schools, but also extend into the professional world and society; other activities deal with the history and future of quantum physics," said DPG President Klaus Richter.

On the official website of the Quantum Year in Germany quantum2025.de and the international site quantum2025.org all events are bundled.