University of Oulu’s Matti Silveri: Nobel Prize celebrates the evolution of quantum physics into quantum technologies
Matti Silveri worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University from 2013 to 2016, where the collaboration began.
“University has several theoretical and experimental groups working in close cooperation. I was part of the theory group, and he led one of the experimental groups. We got to know each other especially through a joint research project, which resulted in the publication Theory of remote entanglement via quantum-limited phase-preserving amplification,” Silveri explains, who is the lead author of the paper.
The Nobel Prize comes at a significant time, as this year marks the UN’s International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Quantum mechanics is considered to have originated 100 years ago in 1925. According to Silveri, the awarded trio has been crucial in experimentally demonstrating quantum phenomena and advancing quantum technologies.
“The research groups of John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis conducted pioneering experiments in the 1980s with superconducting electrical circuits, showing that quantum mechanics can also manifest in phenomena much larger than atomic scale. For example, quantum features can be observed in the current or voltage of an electrical circuit: current can flow simultaneously in both directions (superposition), or an electron can tunnel through a thin insulating layer,” Silveri explains.
Previously, it was thought that quantum mechanics only applied and was visible at the level of atoms, individual electrons, or atomic nuclei. These results gave rise to an entirely new field of research—quantum physics based on superconducting electrical circuits.
“All the laureates have since led successful research groups in the field of superconducting electrical circuits. Clarke at UC Berkeley, Devoret first in Paris then at Yale and now at UC Santa Barbara, and Martinis at UC Santa Barbara and Google. They laid the foundation for a research field from which companies like Finland’s IQM, as well as IBM and Google’s quantum computing developments, have emerged,” Silveri notes.
Quantum physics, and especially quantum technology, has in recent years become a major tdisruptive field. Universities, research institutes, and companies are intensively developing quantum computers, quantum communication, and quantum sensors.
“All these fields are expected to deliver capabilities that cannot be achieved with so-called classical methods. Quantum computing can solve complex computational problems, for example in drug development and materials design. The results could lead to better health outcomes and progress in energy and green transition sectors,” Silveri describes.
At the University of Oulu, Silveri’s research group investigates both the physics of superconducting quantum devices and the algorithms and applications of quantum computing.
“The physics of superconducting quantum devices means studying how the devices operate, what phenomena or ‘errors’ occur in them, and how basic quantum computing operations—quantum gates—can be implemented,” Silveri explains.
“In algorithm and application research, we use, for example, VTT’s 50-qubit quantum computer and develop programs for it to calculate properties of small molecules or to solve optimization problems,” he continues.
The Nobel-winning research is directly reflected in the work being done in Oulu: both research directions utilize the same superconducting electrical circuits that the Nobel trio helped develop. According to Silveri, quantum technology also has societal and strategic significance.
“Quantum sensors are being explored as replacements for technologies like GPS. I see quantum research and technology as increasingly important. This is emphasized by national quantum strategies and investment plans,” he states.
This spring, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland published the national quantum technology strategy for 2025–2035.