Quantum technologies have already shown dramatic progress in redefining what’s possible. TWAS Fellow Luiz Davidovich, emeritus professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a leading quantum physicist and believes that millions in the global South can reap the benefits of these advancements in science as they redefine the future, too.

Davidovich’s contributions to quantum physics, which are linked to global development, were under the spotlight during the 17th TWAS General Conference in Rio de Janeiro. Davidovich was in fact the recipient of this year’s TWAS Apex Award, a distinction that celebrates outstanding scientific contributions from the developing world, and TWAS Medal Lecture, which gave him the opportunity to present his work during the conference.

Watch the full interview to Luiz Davidovich here

Quantum mechanics 2.0: a new wave of discovery

Davidovich describes today’s developments as a second wave of quantum innovation. “People call it Quantum Mechanics 2.0. This new wave has a big potential again of changing the daily life of humankind,” he said.

In 2025, the TWAS Apex Award recognized and celebrated excellence in quantum science and technology, joining in the celebrations of the UN’s International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. For Davidovich, this timing underscores the need for the global South not to be left behind in this new era.

Davidovich believes frontier science can help the global South achieve sustainable development, but to do so new discoveries and technologies must be “shared with all countries and all humankind.”

The present and future are entangled

For Davidovich, the pace of change today is striking. “People often ask, ‘What’s the future of your field?’ It is now,” he said. “Quantum computers are being built. Quantum gravimeters are there: they can find water or oil under the soil without making holes, just because that changes the gravitational field, and quantum gravimeters are sensitive to that. We have quantum communication. Lots of things are emerging.”

“We have now the present, strongly entangled with the future,” he added. “These things are evolving together. And that’s a very interesting feeling.”

Davidovich warns that access to these technologies must be inclusive, and that their applications “should be for peace, for the well-being of people, not for war.”

Science as a universal language

As a former Secretary-General of TWAS, Davidovich is familiar with the role the Academy has been playing for more than four decades, fostering collaboration, knowledge generation, and international dialogue.

“Science is a universal language that can be used as a tool to break down walls of prejudice and intolerance, to help the world unite, and to promote peace. TWAS is a very important tool for that,” he said. “TWAS enables conversations and the exchange of ideas among people from different countries, even among those with conflicts or who are at war.”

Giovanni Ortolani

Watch the 2025 Medal Lecture by Luiz Davidovich here