loading . . . 2026 ICTP-IBM Richard Feynman Prize in Quantum Computing Ceremony The ICTP-IBM Richard Feynman Prize in Quantum Computing, named in honour of quantum mechanics pioneer Richard Feynman, is open to established career researchers who have made significant contributions to the field of quantum computing, including theory, algorithms, applications, or simulations. It is intended to be a top award in its field, on a par with ICTP's prestigious Dirac Medal for theoretical physics, and to be awarded annually at a yearly conference co-sponsored by ICTP and IBM.
The 2026 ICTP-IBM Richard Feynman Prize in Quantum Computing has been awarded to Professor Ignacio Cirac of Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, for his seminal contributions to quantum optics, quantum information science, quantum many-body theory, condensed matter theory, and mathematical physics. Professor Ignacio Cirac has played a central role in establishing the theoretical foundations of quantum information processing, including the theory of entanglement, quantum simulation, and tensor-network methods, profoundly influencing both experimental realizations and theoretical developments across modern physics.
J. Ignacio Cirac is a Spanish physicist, director of Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany. He is an expert in quantum computing and communication. With his collaborators, he introduced the first theoretical proposals of quantum computing, simulation, and communication repeaters, and developed a theory of tensor networks to solve problems quantum physics. He studied theoretical physics and gained his PhD at the University Complutense of Madrid in 1991. After a postdoc at JILA (Boulder, US) and becoming Associate Professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) he became Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) in 1996. Since 2001 he is director of the Theory Division at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching (Germany) and Honorary Professor at the Technical University of Munich. He is also the spokesman of the International Max-Planck Research School on Quantum Science and Technology, co-spokesman of the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology, and coordinates the consortium on theoretical quantum computing in the Munich Quantum Valley. For his work he has been awarded several prizes, among them the Prince of Asturias, the BBVA frontiers of knowledge, the Benjamin Franklin Medal, the Wolf Prize, and the Max-Planck Medal. He is a member of the Spanish, Leopoldina (German), National (American), and Bavarian Academies of Sciences, and holds nine honorary doctor degrees. He was member of the board of Telefonica S.A. between 2016 and 2023.
Professor Cirac will give a lecture on “Quantum computers and many-body states”
Abstract: Advancements in quantum computing have enabled the development of small-scale quantum computers and simulators that operate according to the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. These devices provide a new paradigm for information processing and open promising avenues for the study of complex quantum systems. Among their most compelling applications is the ability to address challenging problems in many-body physics, where classical computational methods often face severe limitations due to the exponential growth of the Hilbert space. In this talk, I will present several quantum simulation algorithms designed to study the properties of interacting quantum systems. In particular, I will discuss approaches for simulating real-time dynamics, preparing ground states, and approximating thermal equilibrium states. These methods illustrate how near-term quantum devices can already contribute to advancing our understanding of strongly correlated systems and non-equilibrium phenomena, while also highlighting the remaining challenges and future prospects in the field of quantum simulation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dpZlR7Cuos
