The art of communicating quantum to the masses
Institute for Quantum Computing alum and Faculty of Arts graduate student is bridging science and communications to improve quantum science literacy
The discovery of the new mathematics and physics of quantum mechanics 100 years ago unlocked a new frontier for technological progress. It also necessitates a new way to talk about the science — it’s easier to understand the forces behind why an apple falls from a tree compared to the interaction of light and matter as small as single particles.
Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) alum Fiona Thompson (MSc '24) is a PhD student in English within the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts. Her graduate studies put an unconventional spin on the interdisciplinary nature of quantum research. Instead of staying in a research lab after receiving a Master of Science in Quantum Information from the Department of Chemistry, she decided to pursue a PhD with a focus on the rhetoric of science and best practices for communicating about emergent quantum technologies.
“I'm interested in how we can use methods from rhetorical studies, semiotics and literary analysis to better understand the relationship between experimental quantum science and language,” Thompson says. “Being in Waterloo’s quantum environment and listening to researchers talk about their areas of expertise inspired me to understand more about language and how we could help non-experts better grasp quantum concepts and also give scientists impactful language to articulate their research.”
She was recently awarded the 2026 Canada Graduate Research Scholarship (CGRS), administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The award for doctoral students is valued at $40,000 per year for three years and replaces the Vanier scholarship. She says receiving the CGRS scholarship is a life-changing opportunity that will allow her to be laser-focused on her doctoral research.
“Quantum has already changed modern technology and will likely shape the major technological breakthroughs of the future. We can do better to help people understand the science, and I hope my research will contribute to quantum science literacy of the future.”
Thompson is also a Scientific Outreach Officer at IQC, regularly engaging with students, policymakers and professionals who are interested in quantum mechanics and its impact. But concepts like entanglement and superposition, that are central to the advancement of modern quantum technologies and theoretical breakthroughs, are not as intuitive compared to other classical sciences.
“Knowledge of quantum science and technology has become more mainstream, but there is still a lot of work to do in how to effectively communicate the unusual rules of the subatomic world and the exciting new frontier of quantum technology,” Thompson says. “This scholarship is a proof point for how deep the interdisciplinary nature of quantum research runs.”
The broad impact of interdisciplinary research
Quantum information research is interdisciplinary by nature. At IQC, faculty and graduate students from seven departments across campus collaborate in an environment where theoretical and experimental researchers thrive side by side to solve hard problems spanning physics, mathematics and engineering.
Dr. John Watrous, Director of Education and Training at IQC, says a success factor for the quantum industry will be recruitment of talent beyond those who have followed the traditional academic path.
“The success of the quantum industry will require a broad effort,” Watrous says. “There are many ways to participate and contribute to advancing quantum information. IQC will continue to work with other academic units to provide opportunities for people to learn and empower them to find their own paths.”
Dr. Michael MacDonald, a Professor in the School of Critical and Creative Humanities and Thompson’s PhD supervisor, says her research area is productive for the humanities and scientific disciplines and, more importantly, for science literacy more broadly.
"Fiona's interdisciplinary research on the rhetoric of science exemplifies the ways in which humanistic and scientific disciplines can enter into productive dialogue,” MacDonald says. “Her dissertation will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the important issues at stake in quantum technology and, more generally, scientific discourse and its reception by a public increasingly skeptical of the value of truth, science and reasoned argument.”
