RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — U.S. military-funded scientists won two 2025 Nobel Prizes for groundbreaking research that could improve battlefield intelligence and navigation, strengthen military communications and protect Soldiers from chemical threats.
Dr. John Clarke, Dr. Michel Devoret and Dr. John Martinis won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of macroscopic quantum tunneling and energy quantization in superconducting circuits.
Their research, funded and guided over decades by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory with partner agencies, positioned superconducting devices as a leading platform for quantum computing. Quantum computing could improve military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, provide secure navigation in GPS-denied environments and boost artificial intelligence to support military missions.
“This award highlights not only a scientific breakthrough, but also the long-term impact of the U.S. Army’s strategic investment in high-risk, high-reward research,” said Dr. Anne Marie Petrock, ARL Army Research Office acting director. “Through our consistent leadership and funding of superconducting-qubit research at Yale, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California, Berkeley and partner institutions, we accelerated the evolution of early discoveries into practical quantum technologies. This significant accomplishment strengthens national defense by positioning the U.S. at the forefront of innovation in quantum science.”
The team’s original experiments, conducted in academic laboratories in the 1980s, contributed to the expectation that superconducting devices exhibited the desired quantum behavior for quantum computing. Much of the team’s most influential work, including advances in superconducting qubit coherence, quantum control, quantum-limited amplifiers and non-reciprocal microwave devices, was supported by ARL or by ARL-managed programs in partnership with other U.S. government entities.
Dr. Omar Yaghi, a professor at UC Berkeley, won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering work in the development of metal-organic frameworks, a new form of molecular architecture. These materials are being developed with the potential to enhance Soldier protection capabilities by detecting and neutralizing chemical threats and filtering toxic substances. He shared the prize with two colleagues, Dr. Susumu Kitagawa at Kyoto University, Japan and Dr. Richard Robson at University of Melbourne, Australia.
Early in his research, Yaghi collaborated with DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center in synthesizing MOFs for destruction of chemical threats and filtration of toxic substances. That early research received funding from leveraged partnerships between the Chemical and Biological Defense Program, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and ARL.
MOFs have since led to revolutionary concepts in personal protection equipment and could improve the next protective suit. MOFs also show promise in areas such as air and gas storage, carbon dioxide scrubbing, atmospheric water harvesting, water filtration and stabilized explosives. These and many other applications enabled by this breakthrough support layered protection, a major focus area of Army Acquisition Transformation.
By varying the building blocks used in the MOFs, chemists can design them to capture and store specific substances; they can also drive chemical reactions or conduct electricity.
“These 2025 Nobel Prizes are not only a recognition of scientific achievement but also a validation of the Army’s leadership and foresight in cultivating technologies and a workforce essential to future warfighting and strategic technological dominance,” Petrock said.
In its almost 75-year history, DEVCOM ARL’s Army Research Office has identified, led and funded groundbreaking science and discovery that laid the foundation for advancements recognized by 29 Nobel Prize winners.
DEVCOM ARL is the Army’s sole foundational research laboratory serving as the nexus between the military, academia and industry. ARL expertise drives cross-cutting advancements in science and technology to ensure the Army wins now and in the future. For information visit DEVCOM ARL’s website.
This press release was initially published on the U.S. Army website.