From a large number of excellent applications, 12 finalists were selected to give presentations during the two-day symposium. In the packed auditorium at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, they presented their cutting-edge research in the field of quantum computing to a captivated audience. The discussions initiated continued seamlessly during the breaks, which were eagerly used by the participants as an opportunity for exchange and networking.
The finalists' lecture program—the focus of the symposium—was rounded out on the second day with a poster session and lab tours to give the young scientists a deeper insight into the Bavarian quantum research landscape.
Quantum Talents Awards
The highlight of the Quantum Talents Symposium was the presentation of the Quantum Talents Awards on Tuesday evening at the Gasthaus Neuwirt in Garching. A jury of local quantum experts had previously had the difficult task of selecting six winners from among the finalists. The prizes were generously sponsored by the QuantumLeaks Foundation and the start-up plancq.
The Entanglement Prize, endowed with 5,000 euros, was awarded to Daniel Ruttley, postdoctoral researcher at Durham University, for his work on long-lived entanglement of molecules in optical tweezers with magic wavelength. The Quantum Talents Award, endowed with 1,180 euros each, was presented to five finalists. Melissa Will, Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Munich, Molly Smith, Ph.D. student at the University of Oxford, Visal So, Ph.D. student at Rice University, Zack Weinstein, postdoctoral researcher at Caltech, and Eric Hyyppä, quantum engineer at IQM, were delighted to receive the award. In addition, a Poster Award was presented to Rafael Alvaro Flores Calderon.
The Quantum Talents Symposium 2025 was organized by MQV in collaboration with the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), the International Max Planck Research School for Quantum Science and Technology (IMPRS-QST), the Women in Quantum Optics Postdoctoral Program (WiQO) of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, LMU Munich, and the Technical University of Munich.