Lecture

Join us for casual conversations with researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC).

Shayan Majidy, PhD candidate - Tuesday, September 29, 7:00 p.m.

This month, we welcome PhD student Shayan Majidy for a conversation about life as a graduate student, and what it's like to share quantum and science with a young audience.

The profound impact of early discovery, experimentation, and disruption through research and invention

Researchers today build on the knowledge and discoveries made by those who have come before them. How can today’s researchers light the early pathways and curiosities for the research breakthroughs of the future? How can we demonstrate the impact and potential of the yet-to-be known? And, what if any, role does academia, industry, the Faculty of Mathematics, and Canada play in increasing the discovery journey to these new frontiers?

Dr. John Donohue is a quantum physicist and science communicator, currently acting as the Scientific Outreach Manager at the Institute for Quantum Computing and University of Waterloo. He holds a PhD in Physics and Quantum Information, and has conducted research in quantum optics in Canada and Germany. At IQC, John works to break down quantum mechanics to its essence, through classes, workshops, activities, and exhibits. John is interested in how to “count” light by measuring photons, the individual and indivisible particles that make it up.

Security in the Quantum Future

Quantum theory is quickly becoming quantum technology.

David Snoke, University of Pittsburgh

Much of our intuition about light comes from our experience that light has very weak interaction with other light—a beam of light easily passes through another beam of light, so that the Star Wars scenes of “light sabers” bouncing off each other are just imaginary. But in solids, the properties of light can be changed dramatically, especially in solids that we design for new effects.

“Quantum physics” has taken its position with “rocket science” in pop culture as a shorthand for frighteningly complicated science. Quantum physics has also taken on a sort of magical connotation in fiction, with features like entanglement, superposition, and tunneling, spurring imagination. But where does the science draw the line? How much is joyful speculation, and how much is disregard for reality? And if it’s always seen as either magical or scary, how does that affect the perception of quantum science?

QUANTUM + Film: A screening of 10 Quantum Shorts

A festival for quantum-inspired films

The Quantum Shorts festival called for short films inspired by quantum physics and the universe answered. Filmmakers all over the world responded with their movies.

Speaker: Jacqueline Armstrong Gates

Speaker: Doug Beynon

Abstract:

Speaker: Thomas K. Hunter