University of Coimbra awards honorary doctorate to Hartmut Neven
The Vice President of Engineering at Google and renowned quantum computing researcher will receive the distinction following a proposal by FCTUC, with the ceremony scheduled for 18 June.
Hartmut Neven, Vice President of Engineering at Google and a renowned quantum computing researcher, will receive the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Coimbra (UC). The ceremony will take place on 18 June at 10:30 am in the Great Hall of Acts (Sala dos Capelos).
Paulo Marques, co-founder and CEO of the tech company Feedzai, will be the Presenter, with laudations delivered by Constança Providência (Doctoral Candidate’s Praise) and Gabriel Falcão (Presenter’s Praise). Both are faculty members at the University of Coimbra's Faculty of Sciences and Technology (FCTUC), which proposed the awarding of the honorary doctorate to the German-American scientist.
"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).
The event will be streamed live at www.uc.pt/emdireto.
About the honouree
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.
Neven founded two computer vision companies, one of which was acquired by Google in 2006. His company, Neven Vision, achieved several pioneering milestones, introducing facial authentication, face filters, and visual search for mobile phones. At Google, he led the Visual Search team and co-founded Project Glass, having developed the first prototype in 2011. His work has been recognised and awarded in international visual recognition competitions.
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 2014, he began exploring quantum biology, creating neurotransmitters and psychedelics using isotopes and quantifying their effects on neuroreceptors. More recently, he launched a research project in collaboration with academic experts, aiming to experimentally test the hypothesis that quantum processes may underlie conscious experience.
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 was named one of the world’s most creative people by Fast Company magazine.