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Nobel Laureates Bring Quantum Physics to Tenerife Students

Nobel Laureates Arrive for Physics Congress

Two Nobel Prize winners in Physics landed in Tenerife yesterday to share their knowledge with students and physicists on the island. Their visit is part of the 18th Congress of Physics Students (Coefis), held at the University of La Laguna (ULL) from yesterday until today. The distinguished guests are Duncan M. Haldane, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2016, and Serge Haroche, who received the honour in 2012.

Groundbreaking Quantum Research

Haldane was recognised for his theoretical discoveries concerning the phases and transitions of matter in the quantum world, known as topological phases. This work helped explain why certain materials exhibit ‘exotic’ behaviours at a minuscule scale. Haroche, meanwhile, laid the foundations for designing experimental methods capable of measuring and manipulating individual quantum systems. His technique allows for the direct observation of quantum particles without destroying them, using a trap made of two mirrors between which photons bounce. He is considered one of the pioneers behind the creation of quantum computing.

Inspiring the Next Generation

Both scientists used their first day in the Canaries to give lectures at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) and the ULL. Haroche spoke in the morning at the IAC, while Haldane was the first to address a packed hall of students in the Blas Cabrera Felipe Lecture Hall at the ULL’s Faculty of Science in the afternoon. In his masterclass, Haldane tackled topological quantum states, quantum entanglement, and the horizon for a second quantum revolution.

Haroche will focus his intervention – scheduled for today at 16:30 – on the importance of basic research, even in fields seemingly removed from immediate applications, using quantum physics as an example.

A Major Student-Led Event

The 18th Coefis began yesterday, creating a meeting space between nationally and internationally renowned researchers and undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral Physics students from the University of La Laguna. The Blas Cabrera Felipe Lecture Hall is hosting this now well-established event, which in its 2026 edition brings together over 250 attendees per day.

Coefis has become the annual scientific congress with the greatest impact among ULL students and one of the most significant events organised entirely by students at a national level. This is set against a backdrop where various national and international rankings place the university’s Physics degree among the best in the country, highlighting the quality of the research and publications produced.

Wide-Ranging Scientific Programme

The congress covers a wide variety of topics, from astrophysics to quantum physics. It also includes public lectures, such as one by theoretical physicist José Luis Oltra, known on social media as ‘Cuarentaydos’; another by astronomer and astrophysicist Ana Ulla, who will speak on astrobiology; and a talk by Itahiza Domínguez, a seismologist from the National Geographic Institute (IGN), who leads research into volcanic activity at Mount Teide.

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