John M. Martinis
Also known as John Matthew Martinis
John Martinis is a physicist at UC Santa Barbara whose 1984 and 1985 work with John Clarke and Michel Devoret laid the foundation for today's superconducting qubit technologies. He completed his physics doctorate at UC Berkeley in 1987 under John Clarke. Google Quantum AI hired his team in 2014, and in October 2019 the team published quantum supremacy results from the Sycamore processor. In 2025 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Clarke and Michel Devoret. He is chief technology officer and co-founder of Qolab, a quantum computing company.
Timeline
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1958–1987
Early years and a Berkeley doctorate
Born in 1958, he grows up in San Pedro, Los Angeles. He completes his physics doctorate at UC Berkeley in 1987 under John Clarke.
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1984–1985
Quantum behavior on a macroscopic scale
In 1984 and 1985 he, John Clarke and Michel Devoret demonstrate quantum mechanical properties on a macroscopic scale. Their work lays the foundation for today's superconducting qubit technologies.
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2004–2014
Building Google's quantum computer
He arrives at UC Santa Barbara in 2004. In 2014 he and his team are hired by Google Quantum AI to build a quantum computer. He also shares the 2014 Fritz London Memorial Prize with Michel Devoret and Robert Schoelkopf.
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2019
Quantum supremacy with Sycamore
His team publishes quantum supremacy results from the Sycamore processor in October 2019. In December 2019 Nature selects him for its year-end Nature's 10 feature.
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2020–2022
Silicon Quantum Computing, then Qolab
In 2020 he resigns from Google and joins Silicon Quantum Computing, an Australian startup. In 2022 he co-founds the quantum computing company Qolab.
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October 2025
A Nobel Prize in Physics
In October 2025 he shares the Nobel Prize in Physics with John Clarke and Michel Devoret. The prize recognizes the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
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March 2026
On the President's science council
In March 2026 he is appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
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As of October 2026
Chief technology officer at Qolab
He is chief technology officer and co-founder of Qolab. He is also a professor at UC Santa Barbara.
Sources and credits
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- John M. Martinis - Wikipedia
- UCSB physics professors John Martinis and Michel Devoret win 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics | The Current
- John M. Martinis – Facts – 2025 - NobelPrize.org
- Qolab cofounder and CTO John M. Martinis awarded 2025 Nobel Prize in physics
- And the Fritz London Memorial Prize Goes To… | The Current
- Quantum Supremacy Using a Programmable Superconducting Processor
- ‘A New Era of Computing’ | The Current
- John Martinis appears in Nature’s 2019 list of top 10 moments in science | UCSB NSF Quantum Foundry | CNSI | UC Santa Barbara
- Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 - NobelPrize.org
- President Trump Announces Appointments to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology – The White House
- Nobel winner named to national science council | The Current
- John Martinis