100 Years of Quantum Mechanics
OCTOBER 9, 2025-JANUARY 16, 2026
Curated by Lorraine Walsh
Simons Center Gallery
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 9, 2025, 5:00 pm
The Simons Center Gallery and SCGP Lobby
Public Lecture Follows Reception
God Plays Dice with the World: The Story of Quantum Mechanics
by Giuseppe Mussardo, Distinguished Professor of Theoretical Physics at SISSA (Trieste)
Della Pietra Family Auditorium, SCGP 103, 5:30 pm
2025 has been designated by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, commemorating 100 years of quantum mechanics. This global initiative seeks to raise awareness of quantum science’s contributions and future potential. The observance looks back to the field’s origins, marking Werner Heisenberg’s groundbreaking work on Helgoland in 1925 as a starting point for the quantum celebration.
Essentially, quantum mechanics is a fundamental physical theory that describes the behavior of matter and energy at atomic and subatomic scales, where energy and other properties are quantized (existing in discrete packets called quanta). Its central ideas include wave-particle duality, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, probability-based predictions through the wavefunction, and entanglement.
This exhibition explores the early foundations of quantum theory and its evolution, as well as continued research. It offers a snapshot on how quantum mechanics underlies much of modern physics that has led to a revolutionary understanding of matter, and a profound impact on technology and innovation.
