An Australian scientist and a gaggle of worldwide quantum researchers have been awarded Nobel Prizes for his or her work on the chopping fringe of chemistry and physics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences introduced on Wednesday.
Richard Robson, an English-born professor who has labored on the College of Melbourne since 1966, will share the $1.77 million (11 million Swedish kronor) Nobel Prize in chemistry with fellow scientists Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi.
The trio had been recognised for the event of a molecular structure often called metal-organic frameworks, which hyperlink steel ions with natural carbon-based molecules whereas leaving gaps massive sufficient for gases and chemical substances to circulation by means of, or to be captured.
The expertise “may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges”, the Nobel Prize organisation stated, “with applications that include separating PFAS from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide or harvesting water from desert air”.
Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel committee for chemistry, stated, “Steel–natural frameworks have huge potential, bringing beforehand unexpected alternatives for custom-made supplies with new features.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Chief Sussan Ley publicly congratulated Robson initially of Query Time in Parliament Home on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s an achievement for Professor Robson, but also a huge achievement for Australian science, for the Australian Research Council which has backed in this research over decades, and for Australia’s research sector more broadly,” Albanese stated.
‘Some thought … it was an entire load of garbage’
Growth of metal-organic frameworks kicked off within the Eighties with Robson’s work combining copper ions with an natural molecule, which “bonded to form a well-ordered, spacious crystal”, the Nobel Prize organisation stated.
Robson, who’s 88 years previous, stated he first had the concept in 1974, however didn’t take it critically till greater than a decade later.
“Some people thought at the time — that’s in the middle 80s — it was a whole load of rubbish,” he advised the organisation in a telephone interview.
“Anyhow, it didn’t turn out that way.”
College of Melbourne vice-chancellor Professor Emma Johnston congratulated Robson and praised his “blue-sky research”.
“Australia must recognise that this long-term elementary analysis is what permits us to then translate that analysis into merchandise, like the power to retailer and switch hydrogen safely,” she stated.
“So long as we proceed looking for options for the world’s biggest challenges, elementary analysis is important.”
Robson’s work was constructed upon by his Nobel Prize co-winners Kitagawa and Yaghi, whose “revolutionary discoveries” made metal-organic frameworks extra steady and modifiable, the Nobel Prize organisation stated.
Robson is the primary Australian Nobel laureate since astrophysicist Brian P Schmidt gained a Nobel Prize in 2011 for serving to uncover the accelerating growth of the universe.
‘Next generation of quantum tech’
Two physicists who’ve not too long ago helped Google preserve its place as a frontrunner in quantum applied sciences had been additionally awarded Nobel Prizes, alongside a colleague from the UK.
Google’s chief scientist of quantum {hardware}, Michel Devoret, and former Google worker John Martinis shared the Nobel Prize in physics with their fellow College of California researcher John Clarke.
The trio had been recognised for experiments they carried out within the Eighties which proved the unusual quantum mechanical phenomena seen in atoms and subatomic particles might be proven and managed at a bigger scale in {an electrical} circuit on a chip.
Their work “has provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors”, the Nobel Prize organisation stated.
Clarke advised the organisation he was “stunned” by the award, and praised Devoret and Martinis as “brilliant people”.
“I remember that we got invited to various conferences to give talks on this work, so it was clear to us that people appreciated what we had done,” he stated.
“I think the sort of ongoing significance for the following 40 years — I think we didn’t have the remotest idea that would happen.”
[L-R] John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis share the 2025 Nobel Prize in physics. Picture: Niklas Elmehed / Nobel Prize
Marcus Doherty, the chief scientific officer at Australian quantum expertise agency Quantum Brilliance, stated it was “fantastic news to see Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis recognised”.
“Their work provided the foundation for and stimulated the development of a wide range of superconducting quantum technologies, which in many ways have built the momentum behind the second quantum revolution,” he stated.
The push to construct quantum computer systems that are extra highly effective than classical ones has seen the likes of Google, Microsoft, and IBM make investments billions of {dollars} into analysis within the area.
Australian scientists have already contributed main developments in quantum chips at each Google and Microsoft, whereas American agency PsiQuantum is trying to construct the world’s first utility-scale quantum pc in Brisbane.
Final yr’s Nobel Prize for physics was shared between pioneering synthetic intelligence consultants Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield.
