Hartmut Neven

Hartmut Neven is Vice President of Engineering at Google. He leads the Quantum Artificial Intelligence lab, which he founded in 2012. Neven coined the terms "Quantum Machine Learning" and "Quantum AI" and implemented the first machine learning and image recognition algorithms on a quantum computer in 2007. In 2019, the Quantum AI team made history by demonstrating that a quantum computer can solve a computational problem that is intractable for classical computers. His teams were the first to physically instantiate time crystals, non-Abelian anyons, and traversable wormholes using a quantum processor.

The researcher studied Physics and Economics in Brazil, Cologne, Paris, Tübingen, and Jerusalem, earning his PhD in 1996 with a focus on autonomous mobile robots and self-driving cars. His research interests often venture into scientific and philosophical frontiers long before they gain popularity. In 1992, he wrote a master's thesis on neural dynamics for object recognition, and in 2003, he patented a technique for analysing mobile phone images using neural networks. In 2012, his team introduced the concept of adversarial images, paving the way for deep dream art.

In 2024, Hartmut Neven’s team at Google developed Willow, a quantum microprocessor that, with error correction, runs in under five minutes programmes that would otherwise take a full day on today’s fastest classical supercomputers.

"Hartmut Neven is a highly regarded and globally renowned scientist. In addition to recognising his outstanding scientific merit across several fields, this nomination aligns with the strategy of establishing partnerships and strengthening the University of Coimbra’s quantum computing initiative,” reads the Faculty’s proposal to award the degree to the researcher, who heads Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab and is the creator of “Neven’s Law” (a principle demonstrating the feasibility of quantum computing).