Acceptance speech: 18th Frontiers of Knowledge Awards in Basic Sciences

Acceptance speech by Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, winner of the 2025 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences, who was honored alongside Allan MacDonald for their pioneering work on the theoretical foundations and discovery of strongly correlated electrons in stacked and twisted monolayer materials.

Jarillo-Herrero explains how magic-angle graphene enables a single material to take on properties characteristic of many others, comparing it to an “inverse quantum philosopher’s stone.” He highlights the importance of basic science and curiosity-driven research, whose knowledge can lead, in the long term, to technological advances with profound social and economic impact.