Thursday, February 23, 2023

Campuses will open at noon

The University of Waterloo's main campus will open at noon and Bright Starts Co-operative Early Learning Centre is closed today. Conditions on the main campus and in our communities remain slippery and could be hazardous in some places. We recommend using caution when moving around outside. Employees who are able to work remotely should consider doing so.

Researcher receives Quantum Horizon funding award

This article originally appeared on Waterloo News.

The Quantum Horizons: Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research and Innovation for Nuclear Science award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Physics has enabled a new collaboration between researchers who develop technologies for nuclear physics, quantum information science and high-energy physics. 

Adrian Lupascu, a member of the Institute for Quantum Computing and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo, is a co-principal investigator (PI) alongside Anne-Marie Valente-Feliciano, an accelerator physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Mustafa Bal, an associate scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory-hosted Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center, is the lead PI who will coordinate the project "QIS and nuclear physics technologies for next generation materials and architectures for high coherence superconducting qubits" funded by the award.

Professor Adrian Lupascu.

This awarded proposal seeks to understand and mitigate the loss of quantum information in quantum systems by a phenomenon called decoherence. The decoherence of qubits — devices that harness fragile quantum information — needs to be tackled to unlock the power of quantum computers fully. 

"One of our team's main areas of interest is understanding how well quantum information is preserved in devices. For this process, the quality of materials is essential," Lupascu said. "The film expertise at Jefferson Lab and the collaboration with SQMS will provide an opportunity to explore new physics and advance quantum devices." 

Building on Waterloo's experience in designing and measuring different kinds of qubits and the SQMS Center's breadth of expertise and facilities, this award adds Jefferson Lab's capabilities in producing highly pure niobium films. 

Cavities made of niobium can accelerate particles to near the speed of light and are the best in the world, but there is room to maintain high performance while reducing costs by depositing a thin film of niobium on a copper cavity. 

"We are developing advanced techniques to produce high-quality, niobium-film-based accelerating cavities. We think these films will also improve the lifetime of quantum information in qubits," Valente-Feliciano said. "Most niobium films have impurities and are atomically disordered, which might contribute to the loss of quantum information in qubits. Our research at Jefferson Lab is producing atomically ordered, highly pure films with the best properties and performance."

Lupascu will explore new designs for quantum computing devices made with these films and study the devices' performance at ultra-cold temperatures. This effort will seek ways to produce these devices while maintaining high performance and reproducibility across a range of devices, which is important for the scalability of quantum computers. 

"Our SQMS Center is uniquely positioned to make advancements in the performance of superconducting qubits. We will accelerate towards this goal by exploring new promising and unique pathways," Bal said. "Through the Quantum Horizon award, we will use the films made by Jefferson Lab to explore material purity as a potential path to improve qubit performance. The experts at the University of Waterloo will expand our capabilities to make other types of qubits." 

The collaboration for this Quantum Horizons award brings together dozens of experts in Quantum Information Science, material science and more to tackle decoherence with the most advanced material analysis tools and qubit foundries. 

Disability and the Sustainable Development Goals

By Jon Parsons. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The 17 goals and their associated targets cover a range of areas including poverty, health, education, gender equality, climate action and more. The University of Waterloo is marking SDG Week, March 6 to 10, with a series of events across campus.

“While Waterloo is celebrating SDG Week and showcasing the excellent research and entrepreneurship rising to the challenge, disability is often forgotten,” says Joyce Barlow, associate director of disability inclusion. “Inclusion and accessibility for disabled people is a key part of any aspirations for equity. But unfortunately, accessibility is often reduced to a technical checklist that needs to be covered off. To ensure equity, we need to strive for authentic inclusion and belonging.”

The SDGs specifically include disability 11 times. Some of the SDGs citing disability are:

No Poverty (Goal 1) – Disabled people are more likely to live in poverty than people without disabilities. They face barriers to accessing education, employment and healthcare, which can limit their economic opportunities. Goal 1 seeks to end poverty in all forms and ensure equal access to economic resources and opportunities for all people.

Good Health and Well-Being (Goal 3) – Disabled people often face barriers to accessing healthcare and may have specific health needs. Goal 3 aims to ensure that all people have access to quality healthcare services, including mental health services, and promote well-being for all.

Quality Education (Goal 4) – Disabled people often face barriers to accessing education, including physical, attitudinal and institutional barriers. Goal 4 seeks to ensure that all people have access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities.

Gender Equality (Goal 5) – Disabled women and girls face additional barriers to achieving gender equality, including discrimination, violence and limited access to education and employment opportunities. Goal 5 aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls and ensure equal access to opportunities and resources.

Decent Work and Economic Growth (Goal 8) – Disabled people often face discrimination in the workplace and may have limited access to employment opportunities. Goal 8 aims to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, including disabled people.

Reduced Inequalities (Goal 10) – Disabled people face multiple forms of discrimination and may be excluded from social, economic and political life. Goal 10 seeks to reduce inequalities within and among countries, promote social, economic and political inclusion for all and ensure equal opportunities and access to resources for all.

Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11) – Disabled people often face barriers to accessing public spaces and transportation, which can limit their ability to participate in community life. Goal 11 aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable for all, including disabled people.

Climate Action (Goal 13) – Disabled people may be disproportionately affected by climate change, including natural disasters and extreme weather events. Goal 13 aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts and promote climate resilience and low-carbon development, which can help to protect the rights and well-being of disabled people.

Learn more about the SDGs and disability in the UN flagship report on disability and Sustainable Development Goals.

CEE hosts its first Employer Impact Conference

On February 15, Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) hosted its first Employer Impact Conference. The half-day conference saw more than 1,000 employers, prospects and university colleagues registering to hear about the talent evolution from CEE experts, industry leaders and co-op students.  

Highlights of the conference included: 

• A keynote presentation from Engineering alum Michael Steele 
• A panel discussion on how organizations can develop awareness and build capacity to further understand the complexities of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism (EDI-R) and Indigenization 
• Conversations on how to write an impactful job description and the value of a quality onboarding.  

Read the key takeaways from conference speakers on the HireWaterloo website. 

Remembering retirees

Human Resources has reported that the following retirees have passed away recently:

• Inga Beamish, who joined St. Paul's College (now United College) in August 1985 and retired in May 1990, died on August 16, 2022;
• Vladimir Dreiseitl, who was hired at the University in August 1971 and retired in July 1995, died on November 13, 2022;

Dr. John Schroeder in 1985.

• Dr. John Schroeder, who started at Waterloo in May 1966 and retired as a Professor of Civil Engineering in April 1988, died on December 21, 2022;
• Distinguished Professor Emeritus Emil Frind, who began working at the University in September 1971 and retired in September 1998 as a Professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences, died on December 25, 2022;
• Edward F. Goodwin, who began working at the University in July 1967 and retired in January 2010 as a Shipper/Receiver in Central Stories, died on December 30, 2022;
• Dr. Michael Smyth, who started his career at Waterloo in July 1975 and who retired from Renison University College in January 2009, died on January 6, 2023;
• Gwen Hinch, who started at Waterloo in November 1975 and retired in March 1994, died on January 6, 2023;
• Distinguished Professor Emeritus Josef Paldus, who began working at the University in December 1968 and retired as Professor in Applied Mathematics, died on January 15, 2023;
• Professor Emeritus Leonard Eckel, who joined Waterloo in July 1981 and retired as a Professor in the School of Accounting and Finance in July 2001, died on January 25, 2023; and
• Elizabeth Trussler, who began working at the University of Waterloo in February 1980 and retired from Food Services in December 1988, died on January 29, 2023.

Dr. Leonard Eckel in 1982.