All three recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics are faculty members at the University of California. The Nobel Committee recognized John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.
Their research has laid the groundwork for quantum computing, a field that could significantly impact areas such as drug discovery, cybersecurity, agriculture, and energy. John Clarke is an emeritus professor of physics at UC Berkeley. Michel H. Devoret holds positions at both UC Santa Barbara and Yale. John M. Martinis earned his doctorate from UC Berkeley and is an emeritus professor at UC Santa Barbara.
During a phone call with the Nobel Committee, Clarke stated, “To put it mildly, it was the surprise of my life.” He added that he had not considered his work as Nobel-worthy.
UC President James B. Milliken commented on the achievement: “Their research has opened the door to the next generation of quantum technologies, including quantum cryptography, computers, and sensors — breakthroughs that will change how we do everything from discovering new drugs to stopping destructive cyberattacks.” He continued, “With today’s recognition, Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis join a long line of esteemed UC faculty who have won a remarkable 74 Nobel Prizes, including 23 in physics. These awards are not only great honors — they are tangible evidence of the work happening across the University of California every day to expand knowledge, test the boundaries of science, and conduct research that improves our lives. I’m proud to see their work recognized.”
The trio’s key experiments took place in the mid-1980s at UC Berkeley. At that time, Devoret was a postdoctoral researcher and Martinis was a graduate student in Clarke’s lab. Their research focused on quantum tunneling, a phenomenon where particles can pass through barriers that would be insurmountable according to classical physics. While quantum tunneling had been observed on very small scales before, their work demonstrated it in a larger system—a superconducting electrical circuit.
This breakthrough established the basis for modern quantum computers. Unlike traditional computers that use bits set to either zero or one, quantum computers use qubits that can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to superposition and entanglement. This allows quantum computers to perform many calculations at once.
However, maintaining quantum states is challenging because they are easily disrupted by environmental factors. Most current quantum computers use superconducting qubits that must be kept near absolute zero temperature. The design for these qubits was first described by Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis.
Irfan Siddiqi, chair of UC Berkeley’s Department of Physics and a former postdoctoral fellow in Devoret’s Yale lab, said, “This was the grandfather of qubits. Modern qubit circuits have more knobs and wires and things, but that’s just how to tune the levels, how to couple or entangle them. The basic idea that [these] circuits could be quantized and were quantum was really shown in this experiment.”
Clarke has also contributed to the development of ultrasensitive detectors called SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices), which have been used in various scientific applications. He has collaborated with the Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX), developing amplifiers for dark matter searches and for reading out superconducting qubits.
Martinis completed his Ph.D. under Clarke and later joined UC Santa Barbara. In 2014, he and his team were recruited by Google Quantum AI to build a quantum computer. Their efforts resulted in a 53-qubit system capable of solving problems beyond classical computers’ reach. Martinis left Google in 2020 and has since co-founded Qolab.
Martinis said, “It is a great honor to be awarded the Nobel prize. I am grateful to have worked with John Clarke and Michel Devoret during my Ph.D. thesis, as they taught me how to do compelling experiments. The global physics community has also contributed greatly to the success of superconducting qubits. Next, let’s build a useful quantum computer!”
Devoret received his doctorate from University of Paris and worked as a postdoc in Clarke’s lab before leading research groups in France and joining Yale and UC Santa Barbara. He is also Chief Scientist at Google Quantum AI.
Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell said, “I was thrilled to hear that the Nobel was awarded to John Clarke, John Martinis, and Michel Devoret, all of whom have been leading the second quantum revolution we are now enjoying. John Clarke was a leading faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab for many years, supported by the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences program. This is great news.”
Olle Eriksson, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, noted that 2025 marks the centennial of quantum mechanics: “It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises. It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology.”
This year marks only the second time three UC faculty have won a Nobel Prize in one category; in 1995, three UC Irvine scientists were honored for their work on ozone depletion.
Additionally, Frederick J. Ramsdell—an alumnus of UC San Diego and UCLA—received this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research on the human immune system.
Further details about the awardees and their contributions can be found from UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, and Berkeley Lab.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
