Friday, October 1, 2010
It was a trip down memory lane — and a glimpse into the future of quantum technologies — for more than 60 University of Waterloo Physics alumni who reunited last weekend.
The field of quantum computing hadn’t even been envisioned when many of the alumni graduated from the University of Waterloo. A number of guests at the reunion attended UW in the early 1960s, and plenty more studied in the 1970s and 1980s.
While some of the weekend’s attendees went on to careers as physicists, others found their calling as doctors, layers, entrepreneurs and a life coach.
“It was great to see so many physics grads still interested in cutting-edge science,” said Laforest. “They were excited about quantum information science, and had so many great questions to ask. Once a physicist, always a physicist.”
Along with their visit to IQC, the alumni attended talks by UW Physics Dean Terry McMahon, Physics Chair Jeff Chen, and a lively, entertaining lecture by retired professor Phil Eastman.