Diraq Founder and CEO Andrew Dzurak Awarded 2026 Walter Boas Medal

Andrew Dzurak, Diraq CEO & Founder, holding Diraq's silicon wafer.

Sydney, Australia – Diraq CEO and Founder Andrew Dzurak has been awarded the 2026 Walter Boas Medal, one of Australia's highest distinctions in physics, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to silicon-based quantum computing. The award was announced by the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) as part of its 2026 national awards program. 

The Walter Boas Medal is awarded annually for excellence in research and acknowledges original work that has made an important contribution to physics in Australia. Established in 1984, the medal commemorates physicist and metallurgist Walter Moritz Boas, a key figure in Australian physics and an Honorary Fellow of the AIP. 

The 2026 Medal lauds Dzurak’s "pioneering research advancing silicon-based quantum computing," a field in which he has been an international leader for more than two decades. The award citation highlights a body of work that has helped establish Diraq’s quantum bits (qubits) as one of the world's leading approaches to building quantum computers at ‘utility scale’, where economic value outweighs cost. 

Across his career, Dzurak and his team have achieved a series of international firsts, including the 2014 invention of the silicon qubit that forms the basis of Diraq’s technology. Since founding Diraq in 2022, Dzurak has focused on solving the critical challenges of scalability and manufacturability required to turn quantum computing into a practical technology. This work includes a landmark 2025 result showing that qubits manufactured using the same processes as conventional computer chips can achieve the performance needed for utility scale. 

The award comes at a pivotal moment, following announcements relating to Diraq’s US expansion, the publication of a white paper detailing the company’s technology, and the launch of its first deployment in a shared commercial compute facility. 

"I'm deeply honoured to receive the Walter Boas Medal from the Australian Institute of Physics," said Andrew Dzurak. "This recognition reflects the work of an extraordinary group of researchers who have dedicated themselves to advancing quantum computing based on Diraq’s silicon spin qubits. It's especially meaningful because it comes from Australia's physics community, which has played such an important role in establishing the country's global leadership in quantum technologies." 

"Andrew has always combined scientific vision with a deep understanding of what it takes to scale a technology beyond the laboratory," said University of Sydney’s Professor Stephen Bartlett, who acts as Senior Advisor on Quantum Architectures at Diraq. "The breakthroughs awarded today form the foundation of Diraq's technology. We're now turning those advances into quantum systems designed to tackle challenges that are beyond the reach of even the most powerful classical computers." 

The Walter Boas Medal will be presented at the AIP Congress 2026 in Sydney in December.