100 Years of Quantum Physics, with Juan Ignacio Cirac, José Ignacio Latorre, and Miguel Peiró

• On Wednesday, September 17 (5:00 – 7:00 pm) in the Auditorium of the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.

2025 has been declared the International Year of Quantum Science to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its final formulation. The IFT and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza co-organize a day of public outreach framed within the Art and Science program.

Quantum physics encompasses the surprising laws that describe Nature at the microscopic level. It is essential to understanding everything from the earliest moments of the Universe to the most elementary components of matter and their interactions. We owe it advances that have changed our society and promise to continue doing so through groundbreaking new technologies such as quantum computers. But above all, quantum physics represented—and still represents—a tremendous conceptual revolution.

The event 100 Years of Quantum Physics consists of two keynote lectures delivered by Juan Ignacio Cirac and José Ignacio Latorre, and, in between, an intervention by Miguel Peiró on how to approach physics through works from the museum.

Speakers

Juan Ignacio Cirac is one of the world’s leading figures in the field of quantum science and technology. He studied at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he earned his PhD in 1991. Between 1996 and 2001 he was a professor at the University of Innsbruck, and since 2001 he has been Director of the Theory Division at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Munich. He has received numerous awards, including the Prince of Asturias Award in 2006, the Spanish National Research Award in 2007, the Wolf Prize in 2013, and the Max Planck Medal in 2018.

José Ignacio Latorre is a distinguished leader in particle physics and quantum information. He obtained his PhD at the University of Barcelona, where he was a professor for many years. He was one of the founders of the Benasque Science Center Pedro Pascual. He led the first project to build a quantum computer in Spain. Since 2020 he has been Director of the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore. He has extensive experience in science communication, contributing through several books and documentaries.

Miguel Peiró is the director and founder of the Art and Science Academy. He earned his PhD at the Institute for Theoretical Physics and is an expert in science communication and public engagement from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He currently collaborates on art and science activities at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and writes for the digital newspaper El Confidencial.