All news about scientific awards, prizes and appointments

Ferenc Krausz, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, has been awarded the Széchenyi Prize, the highest state distinction for scientific achievement in Hungary, and the Jedlik Ányos Prize, recognising his pioneering contributions to ultrafast and attosecond science. more

The postdoctoral researcher in the Theory division at MPQ has been awarded the American Physical Society’s (APS) 2026 Irwin Oppenheim Award, which recognises exceptional early-career research published in the APS journal Physical Review E. He receives the distinction “for showing that the second law of thermodynamics limits the ability to distinguish between quantum states.” more

MPQ Director Ignacio Cirac has been awarded the IMPRS-MCQST Supervision Award 2025. The IMPRS-MCQST community honours him for his outstanding dedication to mentoring PhD students and postdocs. Johannes Knolle, Professor at TU Munich, is recognised alongside Cirac. The award underlines the importance of excellent supervision for successful research careers and an inclusive academic environment. more

The Spanish National Research Council – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – presented the Medal for Scientific Excellence on the first day of its management meeting in Madrid. Ignacio Cirac, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, is widely recognised as a leading figure in theoretical quantum optics, quantum information and degenerate quantum gases. He receives the honour in recognition of the “exceptional significance and international impact of his contributions”. more

The British analytics company Clarivate has once again recognized MPQ Director Immanuel Bloch as one of the world’s most highly cited researchers. Only scientists whose publications rank among the top one percent of citations in their field and year of publication are included on the Clarivate list. Immanuel Bloch has held this distinction continuously since 2014 and was additionally named a Clarivate Citation Laureate in 2022 for his “ground-breaking research on quantum many-body systems using ultracold atomic and molecular gases.” more

The Prix de l’Académie, the highest honour of the Royal Academy of Belgium, recognises outstanding scientific achievements. MPQ Director Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller receive the award for their pioneering contributions to quantum physics. Their theoretical work has deepened our understanding of the quantum world and driven experimental advances in computing, simulation, and quantum technologies. more

For its mission to bring a “Made in Germany” quantum computer based on neutral atoms into industrial application, MPQ spin-off planqc was awarded the prestigious German Founder Award in the Startup category on September 9, 2025. Founded in 2022 out of Immanuel Bloch’s Quantum Many-Body Systems division, the company’s unique approach enables highly energy-efficient, scalable, and stable systems, rooted in decades of pioneering research at MPQ. more

Rahul Trivedi, tenured researcher in the Theory Division at MPQ, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant of €1.5 million. His project ToNQS aims to develop new theoretical foundations to assess the reliability of quantum simulators operating under realistic noisy conditions. The research paves the way to exploring complex many-body phenomena – long before fully fault-tolerant quantum computers become a reality. more