As proclaimed by the United Nations, 2025 is the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, or IYQ for short. This year was chosen because it marks the 100th anniversary of Werner Heisenberg’s development of matrix mechanics – the first consistent mathematical description of quantum physics.

Our guest in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast is the Turkish quantum physicist Mete Atatüre, who heads up the Cavendish Laboratory at the UK’s University of Cambridge.

In a conversation with Physics World’s Katherine Skipper, Atatüre talks about hosting Quantour, the quantum light source that is IYQ’s version of the Olympic torch. He also talks about his group’s research on quantum sensors and quantum networks.

• There is much more about Heisenberg’s mathematical breakthrough in quantum physics here: “Return to Helgoland: celebrating 100 years of quantum mechanics”.