Quantum Technology: Putting Weirdness to Use

Quantum information science in the 21st century links two pillars of 20th century thought: information theory and quantum mechanics. This new field exploits the bizarre features of quantum mechanics — uncertainty, entanglement, and measurement — to perform tasks that are impossible using conventional means. We anticipate that exotic quantum hardware such as individual trapped atoms, quantum dots in solids, and superconducting loops of wire will not only find their way into 21st century technology, but they will also bring quantum weirdness to the forefront and stimulate new ways of thinking about foundational aspects of the physical world.

Chris Monroe of the Joint Quantum Institute at UMD will lead the discussion. He is an experimental atomic physicist who specializes in the isolation of individual atoms for studies in quantum physics and applications in quantum information science. After getting his undergraduate degree from MIT and PhD at the University of Colorado, he spent 1992-2000 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. With 2012 Nobel Laureate David Wineland, Monroe led the research team that demonstrated the first quantum logic gate in 1995, and exploited the use of trapped atoms for applications in quantum information science. In 2000, Monroe became Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan, where he spearheaded the use of single photons to couple quantum information between atoms and also demonstrated the first electromagnetic atom trap integrated on a semiconductor chip. From 2006-2007 was the Director of the Ultrafast Optics Center at the University of Michigan. In 2007 he became the Bice Zorn Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland and a Fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute. In 2008, Monroe’s group succeeded in producing quantum entanglement between two widely separated atoms and for the first time teleported quantum information between atoms separated by a large distance. His Maryland laboratory currently controls the largest collection of interacting “quantum bits.”

PRESENTATION: Download the meeting presentation

WHEN: February 6, 2014 from 8 AM - 10 AM

WHERE: CACI Chantilly Office
2100 Crystal Drive in Crystal City
Arlington, VA.