Michele Mosca, deputy director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, has been named among Waterloo Region's "40 Under 40" for his outstanding contributions to the area's scientific landscape.
Michele Mosca, deputy director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, has been named among Waterloo Region's "40 Under 40" for his outstanding contributions to the areaâ..s scientific landscape.The award, announced today in a special section of the Waterloo Region Record, recognizes 40 young, innovative leaders who have made a difference in the community.
"It was a very pleasant surprise and honour to be chosen, knowing how many remarkable people there are in this region," said Mosca. The presence of many remarkable scientists in the region is thanks in large part to Mosca's tireless efforts to recruit the world's top researchers to Waterloo.
As a founding researcher at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Mosca was central to Waterloo's emergence as a global capital for leading-edge scientific inquiry. For such contributions, the Waterloo Region Record article lauded Mosca as "a pillar and visionary for the region's intellectual community."
Mosca started the University of Waterloo's Quantum Computing Group in 1999, and from there he was integral to the creation of the Institute for Quantum Computing. As deputy director of IQC, he contributes to the strategic direction of the institute, including the continued recruitment of top researchers, and the recent establishment of a new graduate program in Quantum Information at the University of Waterloo. Following his undergraduate studies, Mosca earned his PhD in Mathematics at the University of Oxford. When he returned to his Canadian alma mater as a professor, he was determined to help put Waterloo on the map in the emerging field of quantum information research.
Along with his work at IQC, Mosca is a member of UW's department of Combinatorics and Optimization, and the Faculty of Mathematics. He is proud to be part of an ongoing tradition of excellence at the university and in the community. "I think the spirit and values of the community which founded the university over 50 years ago were contagious and continued to bring more talent to the region over the years," Mosca said. "We have a long tradition of achieving what was either thought impossible, or not even previously imagined."
Among the other community leaders to earn this year's "40 Under 40" award are: UW assistant professors Sarah Wolfe and David Hammond, MT Space Artistic Director Majdi Bou-Matar, and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Executive Director Genevieve Twomey. The nominees were honoured during a congratulatory reception at the Waterloo Region Record this week.
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.