Aug. 3, 2026 Making quantum computers in which atoms “speak” with each other Sylvain de Leseleuc, Team Director Please describe your current research. In my lab, we trap and manipulate individual atoms using lasers, and with them, develop quantum technology and explore fundamental physics. One of our ongoing projects is to build a quantum computer based on atoms. For this, we have to make atoms “speak” to each other in an exquisitely precise manner by exciting one of their electrons to orbits that are thousands of times larger than usual. I hope that the quantum technology we are developing in my team, and more generally at RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing (RQC), will become an integral part of the technology that we use in the future, which will be needed to support our changing society. For example, we expect that quantum technology will be the basis for solving problems, like drug discovery, which remains very hard even with powerful supercomputers or AI. I also hope that in parallel with the development of the quantum computer, we can use the very precise tools that we invent for making fundamental discoveries in physics: such as why there is more matter than antimatter in our universe. In addition, I hope to contribute to the cold-atom quantum computing community in Japan. Currently, I am driving a JST ASPIRE community program, where we create connections and exchange with researchers in Germany, and I also participate in the Moonshot research program. How did you become interested in your current field of research? So many people have contributed to my passion for science. My parents stimulated me by bringing me to science museums and subscribing to science magazines (like Newton in Japan). Then, at school and universities, I had several fabulous mathematics and physics teachers who kept