Ignacio Cirac wins the first Richard Feynman Prize for Quantum Computing - Il Bo Live

SCIENZA E RICERCA 23 APRILE 2026 Ignacio Cirac wins the first Richard Feynman Prize for Quantum Computing di Federica DʹAuria CONDIVIDI Ignacio Cirac. Photo: ICTP Ignacio Cirac is the first winner of the Richard Feynman Prize in Quantum Computing. The award was presented to him on 21 April 2026 in Trieste, during a ceremony at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). The prize was established by ICTP and IBM as part of a strategic partnership launched in 2025, with the aim of recognising the work of scientists who have demonstrated an ability to harness the theoretical concepts of quantum physics for concrete technological development. This is precisely the direction Cirac has taken in his career. Over the last thirty years, he has taken some of the most abstract concepts of quantum mechanics and transformed them into concrete tools for the development of the quantum computer. For this reason, the current director of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich is today regarded as one of the pioneers in the birth of modern quantum computing and one of the leading contemporary theoretical physicists. Ignacio Cirac (al centro) con Atish Dabholkar (ICTP) e Alessandro Curioni (IBM). Foto: Filippo Blasetti e Alberto Riccio Bergamas / ICTP Photo Archive One of his most famous contributions dates back to 1995, when, together with Peter Zoller, he proposed an idea that was to revolutionise this field of study: using atoms and molecules as qubits, that is, as the fundamental units of quantum information. In particular, the two physicists are credited with developing a protocol for building quantum computers based on the use of trapped ions; a project that laid the foundations for a long series of experiments and technological developments that are still ongoing. Cirac has also worked on entanglement, the quantum correlation between particles. The aim, in this case too, was to understand how to quantify, control and exploit this property for concrete technological applications. Related stories: Ioni intrappolati per il futuro computer quantistico La foto ai sistemi “entangled” e lo sviluppo delle tecnologie quantistiche We caught up with Cirac at the award ceremony in Trieste. It is certainly not the first time he has found himself in such a setting: throughout his career, he has in fact received some of the most prestigious international scientific awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics in 2010, the Wolf Prize in Physics in 2013 and the Max Planck Medal in 2018. Nevertheless, he says he is deeply honoured to receive this award, which represents a significant milestone for him for a number of reasons. “It’s exciting to know that this is the first time this award has been presented: that makes this occasion special,” he comments. “Moreover, this is an award specifically linked to work on quantum computing – unlike others that concerned different aspects of my research – and it recognises a contribution that is not solely mine, but stems from collaboration with many other scientists from very different fields of study and countries. Not to mention the fact that the prize is named after Richard Feynman, who for me and for most scientists is a true hero: ever since I was a young researcher, in fact, I have always regarded him as one of my role models, particularly for his visionary ideas. After all, it is to him that we owe the concept of quantum computing. Last but not least, there is the fact that this prize is awarded by a centre of excellence such as the ICTP, which has established many prestigious awards and represents a special place not only for the quality of the science produced within it, but also for the role it plays in making research more democratic.” Related stories: 100 anni di Abdus Salam: la fisica al servizio della pace “What I love most about quantum physics is that it represents the perfect combination of three fields of study that have always fascinated me greatly,” continues Cirac. “Mathematics, philosophy – which teaches us that reality is not exactly as we imagine it – and then, of course, physics: and in particular the possibility of using it to bring about concrete innovations. The theories of quantum physics, in particular, provide computational tools that are useful not only for scientific development, but which also lend themselves to industrial applications, perhaps aimed at optimising data management, for example.” In short, it is a field of study that is not as abstract as we sometimes tend to think. “Take electromagnetic waves,” reflects Cirac. “At first, nobody really understood what they were: you couldn’t see them, nor touch them... Yet today they form the basis of how we communicate. I believe something similar could happen with quantum physics, which might allow us to develop technologies that work differently and more efficiently than we expect.” Foto: Alberto Riccio Bergamas / ICTP Photo Archive However, it is not only theory that guides practice. As Cirac confirms, the opposite often happens in science. “It has happened many times: scientific research develops on the basis of formulated theories, which makes the emergence of new technologies possible; these, in turn, enable new scientific discoveries, raising new questions, and so on. This certainly applies to quantum physics as well and, in my opinion, to quantum computing too.”  There are some well-known unsolved problems whose solution could revolutionise this field of study. Quantum computers may not solve them directly, but they could help us understand how to tackle them, as well as enabling us to observe new phenomena linked to the quantum world. For this reason, Cirac emphasises the importance of collaboration between the research and technology sectors. “In most cases, the aim of science is to guide technological progress. We scientists cannot do this alone, but we can still contribute to this process: university researchers often collaborate with companies, sharing their knowledge, and companies develop tools that are unique in the world, enabling scientists to make new discoveries that would otherwise be impossible.” (da sinistra) Alessandro Curioni, Ignacio Cirac, Michelle Feynman, Atish Dabholkar. Foto: Alberto Riccio Bergamas / ICTP Photo Archive This article was originally written in Italian. Since Il Bo Live does not have native English speakers on staff, we edited the text with the support of an AI-based language tool. Questo articolo è stato scritto originariamente in italiano. Poiché nella redazione de Il Bo Live non ci sono madrelingua inglesi, abbiamo rivisto il testo con il supporto di uno strumento linguistico AI.