APS’ Jonathan Bagger Marks the International Year of Quantum at QWC 2025
The APS CEO calls for sustained funding, global mobility, and public–private partnership to power the “second quantum revolution.”
Jonathan Bagger, CEO of the American Physical Society, delivers remarks celebrating the International Year of Quantum during the Plenary & General Session at Quantum World Congress 2025.
Jonathan Bagger, Chief Executive Officer of the American Physical Society (APS), opened Wednesday’s Plenary & General Session by celebrating the United Nations–designated International Year of Quantum (IYQ 2025) and spotlighting the pillars that have carried quantum from theory to everyday impact.
Bagger traced the arc from Werner Heisenberg’s 1925 breakthrough on Helgoland to the “quantum we live with daily”—from cell phones and semiconductors to MRI and GPS—arguing that today’s momentum rests on three mutually reinforcing pillars: advances in fundamental science, sustained government support for research, and bold private-sector investment. “All are essential,” he said. “Remove one and the system collapses.”
“Successful nations attract talent and set it free.”
He underscored the international character of the field—reflected in APS’s 50,000-member global community—and cautioned that restrictions on scientific mobility and cuts to science budgets would slow innovation, constrict the talent pipeline, and push opportunity elsewhere. Bagger pointed to a recent statement by 38 physical societies outlining principles for successful international collaboration: integrity, transparency, and reciprocity.
Framing the present moment as the onset of a “second quantum revolution,” Bagger highlighted near-term promise across quantum sensors, computing, and networks—with applications in drug discovery, secure communications, materials design, climate modeling, and supply-chain optimization. Realizing that promise, he emphasized, demands investment in students and early-career researchers, open scientific exchange, and the public–private coordination that has historically propelled technological leaps.
Bagger also recognized Connected DMV’s Global Industry Challenge as part of IYQ 2025’s worldwide slate—1,500+ events across five continents, from an opening ceremony in France to a closing ceremony in Ghana—designed to elevate awareness, accelerate commercialization, and expand talent pathways.
He closed with a call to action: use IYQ 2025 not only to honor the past, but to commit to a future where quantum’s benefits are widely shared, tackling global challenges from climate and energy to health and food security through collaboration “across nations and disciplines.”