IQC Director Raymond Laflamme will be among a renowned group of speakers at the inaugural TEDxWaterloo event, a symposium about big ideas that are shaping the future.
IQC Director
Raymond Laflamme will be among a renowned group of speakers at the inaugural TEDxWaterloo event, a symposium about big ideas that are shaping the future.
Based on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conferences, which have become a viral Internet phenomenon, TEDx
is a series of local, self-organized events that showcase leaders, innovators and visionaries.At the Feb. 25 event, Laflamme will present a talk entitled "Sparked by Curiosity: The Quantum Frontier," which will trace the path of scientific inquiry from the distant past to the paradigm shift now underway as researchers harness the power of quantum physics. "It is really exciting to have this opportunity to share my passion about what the great changes that lie ahead as we tame the quantum world," said Laflamme.
Founded in the early 1990s, TED Talks are widely disseminated on the Internet, with an audience of millions watching lectures by speakers including Bill Clinton, Malcolm Gladwell and Al Gore. This popularity has spawned TEDx, a series of TED-sanctioned but independently organized events that follow the model of showcasing a diverse group of field-leading thinkers.
Also taking the podium at TEDxWaterloo will be Beatles photographer and Emmy-winning director Paul Saltzman, experimental poet and cultural critic Darren Wershler, best-selling children's author and filmmaker Amy Krouse Rosenthal and advertising visionary Terry O'Reilly.
About IQC: Founded in 2002, the mission of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) is to aggressively explore and advance the application of quantum mechanical systems to a vast array of relevant information processing techniques.
A part of the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont., Canada, IQC creates a truly unique environment fostering cutting-edge research and collaboration between researchers in the areas of computer, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences. At the time of this release, IQC has 17 faculty members, 22 postdoctoral fellows and over 55 students and research assistants, as well as a support staff of 18.
The Institute for Quantum Computing acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada through Industry Canada and the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Research and Innovation.