The nominating institution Forschungszentrum Jülich on the breakthrough: With quantum computing we face the beginning of a paradigm shift in computer science and scientific computing, which can considerably change science, industry, economy and our every-day life. The demonstration of quantum supremacy, which required a sufficiently large quantum processor with a…

Sunil Amrith is the Renu and Anand Dhawan Professor of History at Yale University, He is the author of four books, including Unruly Waters (2018) and Crossing the Bay of Bengal (2013). His work connects environmental history with the history of migration, with a focus on South Asia, Southeast Asia,…

Luciano Rezzolla is the Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Frankfurt, Germany. His main research topics are astrophysical compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars, which he investigates by means of numerical simulations on supercomputers. Black holes are the most compact objects in…

As smarter, faster, and cheaper industrial robots are at the verge of revolutionising manufacturing worldwide, it seems we are ready to entrust them with more diverse tasks, ranging from collaboratively assembling products with people to providing front-of-house customer service. Already today, hospitals, hotels, and logistics companies use robots to provide…

Presented by: Natalie Jing Ma Felix Biotechnology was founded in 2019 to accelerate the deployment of novel biotherapeutics treating microbial infections, a growing threat in human health and beyond. It combines cutting-edge synthetic biology technologies from Yale and Berkeley into a pipeline that enables it to target, engineer, and deploy…

Asteria Tsapadikou has designed a synthetic biosensor that detects gut metabolites, which serve as an indicator for the functional evaluation of the GI tract and tackles gastrointestinal disorders by engineering a live biotherapeutic supplement.

An estimated 2 billion people consume insects worldwide, and yet the appeal – and commercial availability – of this foodstock remains very limited, especially in the West. With more than 2,000 edible insect species on this planet, packed with high-quality protein, amino acids, vitamins, calcium, zinc, iron, oils, antioxidants and…

Paulius Viskaitis is addressing the limitations in stroke rehabilitation by developing SmartVNS, an automated neurostimulation tool. SmartVNS activates the auricular Vagus nerve with small electric pulses, enhancing recovery by reorganising the brain, and it is specifically triggered when desired movement patterns are detected through a smartwatch worn on the affected…

Malaria deaths are rising, in part because the parasites which cause the disease are evolving resistance to our frontline drug treatments. Merryn Fraser argues that we need new ways to target these parasites and suggests taking advantage of essential biological pathways to deliver drugs directly to parasites, improving existing antimalarial…

Francesca Fragkoudi received the award for the Falling Walls Engage Science Engagement of the Year 2018 for the project Columba-Hypatia. This is a science outreach project which takes place on the post-conflict island of Cyprus, with the aim of using astronomy as a tool for promoting meaningful communication and a…