The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Waterloo joins the global scientific community in celebrating the recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics—John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis. Their pioneering experiments demonstrated that quantum mechanical properties can be realized in macroscopic electrical circuits, laying the foundation for modern quantum computing and sensing technologies.
This recognition holds special significance for Dr. Christopher Wilson, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and faculty member at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC),who completed his postdoctoral fellowship under Michel H. Devoret.
Reflecting on the announcement, Wilson shared his admiration for the recipients:
The Nobel Prize for this work is greatly deserved. This was visionary and foundational work that is one of the deepest roots of superconducting quantum computing. John, Michel, and John have made many great contributions to the field since then, including mentoring many of the leaders in the field of each generation.
At Waterloo, Dr. Wilson continues to advance research in quantum information, microwave quantum optics, and nonlinear dynamics. His groundbreaking work on the Dynamical Casimir Effect (DCE) has earned international acclaim, including the 2012 Wallmark Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy. His research on DCE was named one of the Top 5 Breakthroughs of 2011 by Physics World and received the #1 Reader’s Choice spot on Nature News.