Open House & Doors Open Waterloo Region 2010

Saturday, September 18, 2010 10:00 am - 5:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Explore the laboratories where the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) researchers are harnessing the strange laws of quantum mechanics to build computers of unprecedented power.

Overview

The quantum information revolution is under way, and you're invited to the Institute for Quantum Computing on Saturday, Sept. 18, for a rare opportunity to explore the science that is making it happen.

Explore the laboratories where IQC's researchers are harnessing the strange laws of quantum mechanics to build computers of unprecedented power. See how lasers are used to create unbreakable encryption, and the very building blocks of matter are being harnessed to perform computations.

As a participating site in Doors Open Waterloo Region, IQC will welcome the public to explore its current headquarters, the Research Advancement Centre at the University of Waterloo.

Our doors will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., during which time faculty and students will be on hand to demonstrate the quantum experiments that are forging entirely new paths for information technology.

Public Lecture

A public lecture by David Cory, IQC's newest faculty member and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing, will be held at 2pm. Admission is free, but advance registration is required due to demand and space.

Throughout the day, visitors drop into IQC's lecture hall to watch The Quantum Tamers, the award-winning documentary that explores how quantum mechanics is being transformed from "weird" to "wired." Come armed with your curiosity and questions, and get a rare glimpse of the science that is shaping the future of computing and communications.

Registration

Registration is not required for the open house portion of the event, which will take place from 10am to 5pm.

A limited number of seats are available for our open house and public lecture.

Details

The following laboratories and rooms in in the Research Advancement Centre buildings (RAC1 and RAC2) will be open to the public, with quantum information experimentalists and theorists on hand to explain their work:

  • Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Electron Spin Resonance Lab — RAC1 1124B
  • Coherent Spintronics Lab — RAC1 1124C
  • Integrated Quantum Optoelectronics Lab — RAC1 1124D
  • Superconducting Qubits Lab — RAC1 1124D
  • Quantum Photonics Lab — RAC1 1016
  • Quantum Optics and Quantum Information — RAC1 1013B
  • QuantumWorks — RAC1 1006
  • Cleanroom/Fabrication Facilities — RAC1 1013
  • Quantum Key Distribution Theory — RAC1 2004
  • Quantum Device Theory — RAC1 2108
  • Quantum Solid-State Device Lab — RAC2, first floor