Charles H. Bennett, a physicist at IBM Research, has been named co-recipient of the 2025 A.M. Turing Award for pioneering work in quantum computing and cryptography. The USD 1 million prize marks the first time the Nobel Prize of computer science has recognized quantum research. Bennett shares the honor with Gilles Brassard, a professor at the Université de Montréal.

Their collaboration began in 1979 when Bennett approached Brassard at a San Juan hotel pool to discuss quantum banknotes - currency that couldn't be forged using physics. This conversation led to the BB84 protocol, published in 1984, which established quantum cryptography as a practical method for secure key exchange. The protocol relies on the principle that quantum information cannot be copied without detection, making it theoretically unbreakable regardless of computing power.

Bennett's work built on Rolf Landauer's insight that information is physical, showing that computation could be reversible without energy cost. He later demonstrated quantum teleportation and built the first quantum cryptography machine in his IBM office in 1989. With quantum computers now threatening traditional encryption, their 40-year-old method is becoming increasingly relevant as governments and banks race to secure their systems.