*Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences.

In 2025, the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), the United Nations (UN) launched a major global initiative, The Quantum 100. Representing people at every stage of their professional journey, The Quantum 100 spans academia, industry, education, art, culture, journalism, and policy, reflecting a wide range of skills and specializations.

The Quantum 100 was selected by members of the IYQ Steering Committee and Global Coordination Bureau, composed of representatives from each of the IYQ Founding Partners, as well as leaders from universities, research institutions, scientific societies, governments, and industry around the world.

Gui-Lu Long, a professor at Tsinghua University, served as the President of the AAPPS Council from 2017 to 2019. Ching-Ray Chang, a professor at National Taiwan University, served as the Secretary of the AAPPS Council from 2005 to 2007. Their respective citations and links are given below (Figs. 13 and 14).

A global pioneer in quantum information science, Prof. Gui-Lu Long has spent over three decades advancing the theory, application, and dissemination of quantum technologies.

He is internationally recognized for proposing Quantum Secure Direct Communication (QSDC) in 2000, a foundational approach that enables direct transmission of information over quantum channels and is now a major branch of quantum communication theory cited in the likes of the EU Quantum Flagship Roadmap and implemented in secure banking trials and 5G networks.

With more than 500 refereed publications reaching over 30,000 citations, Long has been recognized with honors including two National Natural Science Awards, the Rao Yutai Physics Prize, and the Thomson Reuters Research Fronts Award. His leadership roles span global scientific communities, including serving as President of the Asian Pacific Physical Societies and membership on international quantum working groups.

Long has shaped knowledge dissemination while mentoring the next generation of quantum researchers. His work demonstrates the integration of theoretical innovation, industrial impact, and global leadership in quantum science.

Professor Ching-Ray Chang has contributed to quantum science for several decades, playing a central role in building regional quantum research and education infrastructure. With over 280 publications and more than 28 patents, his scientific work is matched by a series of popular science books that make quantum concepts accessible to the public.

As former Executive Vice President of National Taiwan University, Chang founded the NTU–IBM Quantum Hub, now one of Asia’s most active academic quantum centers, and introduced quantum computing into NTU’s curriculum. He also founded another quantum information center in CYCU and led major training programs and pioneered high school-level quantum education to cultivate the next-generation quantum workforce in the region.

As the Founding President of the Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology (TAQCIT), he helped shape the regional quantum roadmap and strengthened coordination across academia, industry, and government. He also established the Quantum Taiwan Forum—launched at SEMICON Taiwan 5 years ago—which has since become a major bridge linking the region’s semiconductor strengths with the global quantum technology ecosystem.

Together, his research, policy engagement, educational initiatives, and institutional leadership define a comprehensive approach to advancing quantum science and building the broader infrastructure needed for its long-term development.

ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 was sponsored by strategic partners from

1. Tier II sponsors: the Johor state government, the Ministry of Digital Malaysia, and Quantinuum;

2. Tier III sponsors: Yaqumo, Open Quantum Institute (OQI), the Center for Quantum Technologies (CQT), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology (G-QuAT), and the Quantum STrategic industry Alliance for Revolution (Q-STAR); and

3. Tier IV sponsors: ABEX, the Quantum Technology Research Initiative Collaboration (QTRic), the Program Management Unit for Human Resources and Institutional, Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B), SpeQtral Zurich Instruments, and Oxford Instruments.

ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 was supported by stakeholders from

1. The Malaysian government: The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE), the Ministry of Digital Malaysia, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia (MOSTI), the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), and the Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM);

2. Local academia: UTMSpace, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM), Universiti Malaya Center of Excellence Quantum Information Science and Technology (UM CoE QIST), and Malaysia Quantum Information Initiative (MyQI); and

3. International stakeholders and close collaborators, i.e., the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the National Institute of Metrology (Thailand), Nicolaus Copernicus University (Poland), the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB), The University of Osaka (Japan), the National Quantum Office (Singapore), the Quantum Technology Research Initiative Collaboration (QTRic, Thailand), the Quantum Computing Society of the Philippines (QCSP, Philippines), VNQuantum (Vietnam), the Indonesian Quantum Initiative (IQI, Indonesia) and BRIN-Q, Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA, Switzerland), the Open Quantum Institute (OQI, Switzerland), and AQSolotl (Singapore).

Authors and Affiliations

Consortia

Contributions

The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.