U.S. military-funded scientists have been awarded two Nobel Prizes for 2025, recognizing research that could enhance battlefield intelligence, navigation, and protection against chemical threats.
Dr. John Clarke, Dr. Michel Devoret, and Dr. John Martinis received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of macroscopic quantum tunneling and energy quantization in superconducting circuits. Their work was supported over several decades by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL), along with partner agencies.
The research has positioned superconducting devices as a leading platform for quantum computing, which is expected to improve military intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance operations, secure navigation in environments without GPS access, and artificial intelligence applications supporting 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 foundational experiments began in academic laboratories during the 1980s and demonstrated that superconducting devices could exhibit quantum behavior suitable for quantum computing purposes. Subsequent influential work on superconducting qubit coherence and related technologies was largely funded by ARL or through programs managed by ARL with other government partners.
In chemistry, Dr. Omar Yaghi from UC Berkeley won the Nobel Prize alongside Dr. Susumu Kitagawa from Kyoto University and Dr. Richard Robson from University of Melbourne for developing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These materials are being developed to detect and neutralize chemical threats as well as filter toxic substances to enhance soldier protection capabilities.
Yaghi’s early collaboration with DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center focused on synthesizing MOFs aimed at destroying chemical threats and filtering toxins—a project funded through partnerships involving the Chemical and Biological Defense Program, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and ARL.
MOFs have led to new concepts in personal protective equipment such as improved protective suits for soldiers. They also show potential for use in air and gas storage systems, carbon dioxide removal from air (scrubbing), water harvesting from atmospheric moisture sources, water filtration technologies, stabilized explosives handling—supporting broader efforts within Army Acquisition Transformation focused on layered protection strategies.
Chemists can tailor MOFs by changing their building blocks so they can capture specific substances or facilitate particular chemical reactions; some MOFs can even 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.
