A Note from the Editors
“You have to trust your intuition and your crazy ideas a little,” said Nobel Laureate Anton Zeilinger after receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022. About the craziness of the quantum world, he said in 2015: “It is still such that it cannot be understood intuitively. In the beginning, people said that these are things that contradict intuition, but mathematics works, and only crazy people deal with the question of what that means. Developments over the last 30 or 40 years have shown that the things that the few crazy people have been grappling with, have led to new phenomena and developments.”
Taking Anton Zeilinger seriously and looking at Austria, we can say that there have been and still are a good number of “crazy people” at work to uncover the secrets of the quantum world – and they have been successful and at the top of their discipline. Four Nobel Prizes, a 248 kilometers long-distance world record in quantum communication set in 2022, 107 million euros in additional funding for basic quantum research, as well as a new European record for quantum computing are all signs and indications for an innovative and vibrant quantum community in the heart of Europe.
With the establishment of the Cluster of Excellence “Quantum Science Austria” in 2023, the six most important research institutions in Austria started a tight collaboration, spanning and connecting more than 60 research groups that work on the highest level in the field. In addition, Austrian funding agencies as well as quantum technology companies create a favorable environment to build on the reputation of Austria as major “quantum hub” that culminated in the latest achievements of Anton Zeilinger and Ferenc Krausz.
With the proclamation of the “UNESCO International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in 2025,” Austria wants to make these achievements, new developments and future visions visible. In a collaboration between Quantum Science Austria, the Austrian Press and Information Service in the United States, and the whole quantum community, this publication showcases the Austrian Quantum Ecosystem and explains the importance of quantum science for our everyday lives. „If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet,” said Niels Bohr once, and we encourage our esteemed readers to dive into the quantum world and to get informed about its potential, its opportunities and dangers and to better understand what drives Austrian and international researchers in this spectacular field. Enjoy this special issue of New Austrian!
Hannes Richter
Gregor Weihs
Marion Wieser
Kara Wilson
Top image: Weitblickfilm