First Feynman Prize Winner Announced

ICTP and IBM announce that the 2026 Richard Feynman Prize in Quantum Computing has been awarded to Ignacio Cirac of the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich, Germany, for his seminal contributions to quantum optics, quantum information science, quantum many-body theory, condensed matter theory, and mathematical physics. The prize committee acknowledges Cirac’s 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.

The winner will be presented with the prize at a ceremony that will take place on 21 April 2026 at ICTP. On the occasion, he will give a lecture on “Quantum computers and many-body states,” discussing how small-scale quantum computers and simulators can help us address challenging problems in many-body physics. The ceremony will be attended by Michelle Feynman, daughter of quantum physicist Richard Feynman, whom the prize honours. It is part of the one-week School on Quantum Computing and Simulation, which ICTP has organised jointly with IBM, as part of a collaboration started in 2025.

Cirac’s ideas have turned fundamental concepts in quantum mechanics into concrete proposals that have shaped quantum science and paved the way to its technological applications. The intuition that atoms and molecules could be used as qubits for quantum computing led Cirac and Peter Zoller in 1995 to develop a protocol to build quantum computers using trapped cold ions—an idea that is still pursued in experiments. Cirac also developed a framework that has changed how physicists think about entanglement, by showing that this property can be properly quantified, controlled and used in applications. He understood that systems of many body quantum particles can be used as quantum simulators to tackle problems in chemistry and materials science, currently one of the most promising near-term applications of quantum technology.

“Cirac has been a pioneer and a leading figure in the exciting and rapidly evolving field of quantum computing. Someone of his stature as the first winner of the ICTP-IBM Feynman Prize for Quantum Computing sets a high bar of excellence, in line with ICTP and IBM’s aim to ensure that this newly-established prize comes to be regarded as a major recognition in the field.
I am grateful to be partnering with IBM in this endeavour that will keep the ICTP research environment in close contact with some of the best researchers in these strategic research areas,” said ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar.

"We created this prize with ICTP because we believe celebrating the researchers who move bold theoretical ideas into practical reality is central to the future of quantum computing. Ignacio Cirac has done exactly that — his ideas, conceived decades ago, continue to drive some of the most exciting experimental and technological advances in the field today. IBM is proud to recognize him as the inaugural recipient of the ICTP-IBM Richard Feynman Prize, and we look forward to continuing to honour the researchers whose contributions will inspire and define the next era of quantum computing,” said Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow, Vice President, Europe and Africa, and Director of IBM Research Zurich.

The ICTP-IBM Richard Feynman Prize in Quantum Computing was established jointly by ICTP and IBM in 2025. It is awarded to established career researchers who have made significant contributions to the field of quantum computing, including theory, algorithms, applications, or simulations. It is part of an ongoing collaboration between ICTP and IBM on Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing, which also involves the establishment of the Brahmagupta AI Prize for Early Career Scientists and the organisation of schools and workshops on these cutting-edge research areas. ICTP is also a member of the AI Alliance, launched by IBM and Meta at the end of 2023 to accelerate responsible innovation in AI.