By Vanessa Parks
Internal Communications and Engagement Specialist
The Department of Physics and Astronomy is saying goodbye to two long-serving faculty members. Robert Mann and Guenter Scholz retire January 1. Both have been with the department for more than 37 years. To mark the occasion, Robb and Guenter reflect on their careers and time at Waterloo.
Robert Mann
What motivated you to pursue a career in academia, and how did you choose your specific field?
I have always liked learning about things, whether scientific, sociological, literary, or theological. When I first learned as a child that one could do this as a career, I thought, “that’s for me (if I can get such a job)!” I gravitated toward the sciences primarily because I like exploring questions that have definite answers. I particularly liked calculating, and so I moved into theoretical physics and mathematics.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during your career, and how did you navigate them?
One big challenge that I experienced was when I became chair. The department of Physics (soon to become Physics and Astronomy) was undergoing massive changes: large faculty vacancies due to retirements, the birth of Perimeter Institute and IQC, and the double-cohort year of 2003 when Grade 13 was eliminated. At times, I was dealing with half a dozen things at once. It was both exhilarating and exhausting!
What was your most surprising research finding over your career?
One is that quantum entanglement — that mysterious feature of quantum mechanics that makes two things entwined when they would otherwise be distinct — is degraded by gravitational effects. Put simply, the behaviour of a quantum computer will notably change if gravity is strong (like near a black hole), modifying how quantum information can be used to do various things, like coding and communication.
The other is that black holes behave like systems in a chemistry lab. Pretty much any chemical phenomenon — melting, freezing, superfluidity, polymer-type behaviour, and more — will happen to a black hole under the proper conditions. In other words, once someone someday figures out how to put gravity and quantum physics together — the theory they get should tell us how we get this “black hole chemistry.”
Guenter Scholz
What motivated you to pursue a career in academia, and how did you choose your specific field?
I don’t think there was a particular motivation, other than I’ve always asked “how?” and “why?” This led me to university and then to academia as a career.
What are your plans after retirement, and are there any projects or interests you’re looking forward to pursuing?
I’m looking forward to following up on hobbies in electronics, specifically audio, as well as travelling with my wife to revisit neglected friends and neighbours in Canada and abroad. I also hope to stay active and involved by tutoring science courses.
What achievements are you most proud of, both in your research and in your mentoring of students and colleagues?
In terms of my research, I’m most proud of the seminal work I did in the 70s regarding different aspects of a then-novel type of secondary battery cathode of layered transition metal dichalcogenides. These battery types have now become mainstream in various forms of the lithium-ion battery. I revisited this work in the 90s when inducing superconductivity in these same materials via room temperature electrolytic intercalation.
I also hope to have inspired at least a few of the many thousands of students I’ve lectured, particularly those that were motivated to attend the 8:30 am winter classes!