In 2025, the United Nations declared the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology — marking 100 years since the founding of quantum mechanics. The American Physical Society served as a core organizer alongside UNESCO, with a goal that went beyond commemoration: engage a global audience, inspire the next generation, highlight the people actually doing the work.
The Quantum 100 was one of the flagship initiatives. Not an awards list. A global snapshot — 100 people advancing quantum science across research, education, policy, industry, and public engagement. Scientists sat alongside educators, communicators, artists, and policymakers. The point was simple: quantum is not just a field. It's a global community.
Gather Voices supported this effort alongside Brianne Wheeler of Levitate Marketing, working with APS to get that community on camera.
Recognition programs usually stop at a press release. APS wanted more than that. They wanted participation.
Using Gather Voices, APS invited Quantum 100 honorees to record short videos — why they do this work, what excites them about quantum, what they think comes next. More than 70 of the 100 submitted one.
That number is worth pausing on. Getting busy, globally distributed professionals to record video is genuinely hard. Scientists are not sitting around waiting to make content. And yet this campaign got participation rates most organizations don't come close to.
The reason is how it was framed. This wasn't "please record a video for us." It was "you've been recognized as part of a global milestone, and your voice belongs in it." That's a different ask.
The mechanics mattered too. Each participant got a link. No downloads, no technical setup — just a clear prompt and their own device. That removed friction.
But the motivation came from the campaign itself. Being named to the Quantum 100 carried real meaning. Contributing a video felt like participating in something larger than any single organization. When purpose is strong and the process is simple, people say yes.
The videos added something that written profiles can't: personality, presence, and the visible diversity of a global field. You could hear different accents, see different contexts, and understand that quantum science isn't abstract — it's driven by real people with real reasons for doing what they do.
Those videos ran across channels: the Quantum 100 hub, social media, and closing activities for the International Year of Quantum. They didn't replace other content. They made the rest of it land harder.
APS didn't just celebrate 100 people. They activated them. The result was a body of authentic content that represents the quantum community beyond a single announcement — assets that will keep working long after the campaign wrapped.
That's the difference between a recognition moment and a content strategy. One produces a list. The other produces advocates.
This is the work Gather Voices was built to support.
