NCCR SPIN Newsletter - Feb 2026

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NCCR SPIN Newsletter - Feb 2026

Phase II - Year 6

NCCR SPIN News

Two scientists have joined NCCR SPIN as full members, leading their own funded projects in Phase II:

Stefano Bosco (TU Delft)
Daniel Egger (IBM Zürich)

We also welcome our new associate member:

Fabrizio Nichele (IBM Zürich)

We are pleased to announce that Kristiaan De Greve, fellow and program director for quantum computing at imec and Professor of Electrical Engineering at KU Leuven, has joined our Scientific Advisory Board.

We thank Claudia Felser for serving as member of the Advisory Board until recently.

Co-Director Daniel Loss has accepted an appointment at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. We congratulate him on this new role and are very pleased that he will continue in his roles at the NCCR, in particular as Co-Director.

Guidelines for acknowledging the NCCR SPIN in Scientific Publications

When acknowledging support from NCCR SPIN in your publications, please use the following phrasing:
“This work was supported as a part of NCCR SPIN, a National Centre of Competence in Research, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number 225153).”

Please note the new grant number 225153 associated with phase II.

The SNSF has an open access publishing policy which also includes mandatory open data on all publications. This implies that all data from our publications must be made openly available.

NCCR Events

Women's workshop (16 May)

NCCR SPIN held a workshop for women scientists from the SPIN network at the Biozentrum in Basel on the 16th May 2025. It was led by Deborah Hefti from the company Speak!, which specializes in public speaking training. The event was well attended and highly appreciated, with participants from nearly all NCCR SPIN institutions. Progress and confidence in public speaking were clearly improved for all participants by the end of the day.

Annual Meeting 2025 (18-20 June)

The NCCR SPIN Annual Meeting in Pontresina brought together researchers from across the network to present advances in spin-based quantum computing, spanning qubit technologies, materials, theory, and quantum algorithms. In addition to scientific talks and poster sessions, the program featured start-up pitches highlighting technology transfer, as well as art-and-science initiatives, including the quantum dance performance, that offered creative perspectives on current research and strengthened interdisciplinary exchange within the community.

Site Visit & Review Year 5 (20 - 21 November)

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and an international external review panel conducted the Year 5, Phase II Site Visit and Review of NCCR SPIN. The site visit took place on 20–21 November 2025 at the University of Basel and marked a key milestone in the transition to Phase II of the program (2024–2028).

The review focused on the scientific progress, strategic orientation, and organizational structures of the NCCR in its new funding phase. Over the course of the two-day visit, the NCCR presented comprehensive overviews of all research projects and structure-related areas.

The panel expressed strong appreciation for the overall program and highlighted the scientific progress achieved to date. In particular, the reviewers emphasized the high level of enthusiasm, commitment, and scientific understanding demonstrated by the PhD students, whom they engaged with extensively during the poster session.

The site visit represented a significant collective effort by the NCCR SPIN community. The execution of the review was supported by the contributions of project leaders, researchers, PhD students, and the management team, whose coordination and organizational work were essential to the event.

NCCR SPIN Qubits Winter School 2026 (19-21 Jan)

The 2026 NCCR SPIN Qubits Winter School, held from 19–21 January in Grindelwald, brought together PhD students, postdocs, and Master’s students for three days of intensive exchange on spin-based quantum computing. The programme featured lectures by Stefano Bosco, Anasua Chatterjee, Eliska Greplova, Jelena Klinovaj, András Pályi, Lars Schreiber, Menno Veldhorst, Andreas Wallraff, and James Wootton, covering topics ranging from spin qubit theory and control to materials and architectures. In addition, participants took part in an abstract-writing workshop led by Stephan Meyer and attended a talk by artist-in-residence Roman Lipski. Alongside poster sessions, flash presentations, and informal discussions, the Winter School fostered lively scientific dialogue and strengthened connections within the community.

Other Events

APS Global Physics Summit 2025 (16-21 March)

Celebrating Quantum with the Quantum Fest
As part of the UN-declared International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, NCCR SPIN contributed to the APS Global Physics Summit in Anaheim, California (16–21 March 2025). The Quantum Fest, co-directed by Maria Longobardi, invited the public to explore quantum physics through performances, while NCCR SPIN organized interactive initiatives including the Quantum Playground exhibition, where the NCCR SPIN contributed with the art-and-science installation “Birds of Science” and developed the quantum quest “Save the Cat” .

BDFIL Comic Festival (11 May)

For the 4th time, NCCR SPIN and the Lausanne comic festival BDFIL joined hands to bring a one-of-a-kind discussion around science and comics at the International Comic Festival BDFIL Lausanne 2025. The event took place at the heart of BDFIL, on the 11th May 2025 in the Auditorium of the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts. Around the table, two scientists and comic authors: Camille Van Belle with her books “Les Oubliés de la Science” and “Dans les Pantoufles de Darwin”, and Lucia Sillig with her first book “Game Ovaire”. Pierre Fronholz, quantum scientist at Moth Quantum AG, joined the discussion moderated by Marie Le Dantec. The discussion was followed by a live drawing session.

World Expo 2025 Swiss Pavilion
Osaka, Japan (June-August)

NCCR SPIN organized Qubits on the Bloch, an installation at the Swiss Pavilion during World Expo 2025 in Osaka. Test chips with real semiconductor qubits were mounted on conceptual Bloch spheres, illustrating the intricate dialogue between theory and experiment. The installation invited visitors to explore the quantum journey, highlighting how each step, from testing to setbacks, shapes the evolving frontier of quantum innovation.

Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland (QIDiS) 2025 (13-19 October)

As part of Swiss Quantum Week and the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, NCCR SPIN co-organised the Quantum Industry Day in Switzerland 2025, bringing together academic and industrial R&D to accelerate the transition of quantum technologies from lab to market. The event featured keynote talks, panel discussions, and networking sessions covering quantum computing, sensing, communication, instrumentation, and quantum-safe security, offering participants insights into industry trends, applications, and career pathways.

Tech Brunch on Quantum Computing (26 October)

NCCR SPIN hosted a fully booked Tech Brunch on quantum computing at the House of Electronic Arts (HeK) in Basel. Led by Pierre Fromholz and James Wootton, the workshop combined an introduction to quantum concepts with hands-on artistic experimentation using Moth Quantum’s new “quantum brush,” allowing participants to explore quantum phenomena through digital art.

Berlin Science Week 2025 (1-10 November)

For the third year in a row, NCCR SPIN took part in Berlin Science Week, engaging thousands of visitors with hands-on quantum science at both the Campus (Museum für Naturkunde) and the Forum (Holzmarkt25). Our young researchers presented interactive installations, talks, and an art–science exhibition, inspiring audiences of all ages to explore the fascinating world of quantum phenomena.

Inspire Potentials Awardees

Meet our INSPIRE Potentials Fellows 2025, awarded on two calls this year: May 2025 and October 2025. The INSPIRE Potentials Master's Fellowships were introduced in 2021 to empower excellent female students to conduct their Master's research project in a NCCR SPIN research team. Congratulations to all of this year's awardees!

May 2025 Call

Adilia Iafarova is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Physics at the University of Basel. She pursues her Master’s project in the Poggio Lab of the University of Basel under the supervision of Prof. Martino Poggio.

Jeelben Balkrushna Kothadiya is enrolled in a Bachelor-Master physics dual degree program at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) in Roorkee, India. For her Master’s thesis, she is hosted in the Quantum Theory group of Prof. Géraldine Haack at the University of Geneva.

Sofia Tugnoli is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Nanotechnology for Integrated Systems at Politecnico di Torino. For her Master’s thesis, is part of the Science of Quantum and Information Technology Department at IBM Research – Zurich working with the cryogenic electronics team led by Dr. Cezar Zota.

October 2025 Call

Friederike Bartels is enrolled at the ETH Zurich for her Master’s degrees. For her Master’s thesis, she is hosted in the Institute for Theoretical Physics group of Prof. Eugene Demler at the ETHZ.

Ludovica Cosi is pursuing a Master's degree in Engineering Physics from the Ploitecnico di Milano, Italy. For her Master’s thesis, she is part of the Science of Quantum and Information Technology Department at IBM Research – Zurich working with the cryogenic electronics team led by Dr. Cezar Zota.

Anna Tacchini is enrolled for a master's degree in Engineering Physics at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy. She pursues her Master’s project in the team of Dr. Fabrizio Nichele at IBM Research Zürich.

Awards

Prof. Daniel Loss distinguished as Citation Laureate in Physics 2025

Prof. Daniel Loss was named Citation Laureate in Physics for 2025. This recognition celebrates researchers whose work has transformed our understanding of the physical universe, spanning from quantum theory to cosmology and beyond. Prof. Loss received this prize "for proposing the Loss-DiVincenzo model for quantum computing, using electron spins in quantum dots as qubits". This influential model utilizes electron spins in quantum dots as qubits, laying the groundwork for spin-based quantum computing.

Prof. Zoë Holmes received the 2025 Zonta Prize

Prof. Zoë Holmes was awarded the 2025 Zonta Prize for outstanding young women scientists. The Zonta Prize, awarded every two years, honors a female scientist in Switzerland for outstanding achievement and leadership potential in research. Holmes’ work spans fundamental quantum physics, quantum computation, and emerging directions in nonequilibrium systems.

Prof. Richard Warburton awarded ERC Grant

Prof. Richard Warburton was awarded the Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). Together with partners in Bochum and Copenhagen, the team is developing scalable units based on entangled light particles for quantum computing.

Dr. Maria Longobardi selected for Unesco Quantum 100 List

Dr. Maria Longobardi, has been included in the Quantum 100 list published as part of the UNESCO-led International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) 2025 initiative.

Quantum 100 is a list of 100 professionals from around the world chosen to represent a broad range of contributions to quantum science and technology, including research, education, outreach, and policy. The list was selected by the IYQ Steering Committee from over 400 nominations received globally.

Notable Prizes

Dr. Fabio Bersano (EPFL)
EPFL EDMI Thesis Distinction (2025): Top ~8% highest-ranked PhD theses.

Dr. Arianna Nigro (University of Basel)
QCQT Excellence Award (QCQT PhD School, 2024): Annual award recognizing PhD research excellence

Dr. Santhanu Panikar Ramanandan (Eindhoven University of Technology)
EPFL Thesis Distinction (2025): Top ~8% highest-ranked PhD theses.

Dr. Vladimir Pesic, Andrew Wright, and Prof. Edoardo Charbon (EPFL)
Best paper award IEEE quantum week 2025 for cryo-CMOS control