Oranje Quantum Catalyst Award Presented to Tim Vroomans & Santiago Vallés Sanclemente

Last Thursday, during our Celebrating Quantum Progress event, we proudly presented the inaugural Oranje Quantum Catalyst Award, a Quantum Delta NL ecosystem recognition founded by Orange Quantum Systems (OrangeQS). The award celebrates early-career scientists and engineers whose work accelerates innovation in quantum technology, recognising individuals who bridge academic excellence and industrial relevance, helping advance the Netherlands’ leadership in the global quantum domain.

The Oranje Quantum Catalyst Award is part of the Quantum Delta NL ecosystem and will be presented annually to recognize outstanding early-career contributions that drive real-world impact. Each year, the award may be sponsored by one or more QDNL ecosystem partners, who define its focus and criteria based on their strategic vision.

The 2025 edition marks the founding year of the award, initiated and sponsored by Orange Quantum Systems. As a leader in quantum device testing, OrangeQS shaped the award’s inaugural focus: testing technologies that enable scalability and reliability in quantum hardware. Without robust testing protocols, quantum systems cannot transition from lab prototypes to industrial-grade solutions, making this area critical for progress.

This year’s award was presented by Adriaan Rol, co-founder of Orange Quantum Systems, to two outstanding PhD candidates from the DiCarlo Lab at QuTech:

• Tim Vroomans

• Santiago Vallés Sanclemente

Their contributions have advanced testing protocols for tunable couplers, a key component for scalable quantum processors. They have also improved open-source tools such as Quantify and OrangeQS Juice, empowering the community to build better testing frameworks. Additionally, their research has delivered high-fidelity two-qubit gates while mitigating spectator effects, as published in arXiv:2503.13225v1.

By recognizing these achievements, the Oranje Quantum Catalyst Award highlights the importance of bridging science and industry to accelerate innovation. Congratulations to Tim and Santiago for setting a high standard in quantum testing and helping pave the way towards scalable quantum systems!