Sunday, 16 February 2014: 1:00 PM-2:30 PM
Water Tower (Hyatt Regency Chicago)
We are on the cusp of a new technological revolution, the Quantum Revolution. Technologies that uniquely operate according to the laws of quantum mechanics hold the promise to revolutionize the way we live, work, communicate, and compute. Potentially these could significantly outperform today’s technology and perform tasks that many thought impossible. Some of today’s most innovative technologies already rely on our world operating with quantum mechanics—the laser, transistor, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—have an element of our quantum world. A second, more powerful, quantum revolution is underway. Theoretical and experimental developments in quantum information and the race to build the elusive quantum computer continue to spark new technologies with near- to medium-term commercial applications: materials science, biomedical imaging, personal medicine, ultra-secure communication, oil exploration, drug design, etc. The potential for a tremendous technological and economical impact of quantum information is undisputed. Patents are being filed, venture capital funds focused on quantum technology are appearing and spin-off companies are being created; quantum technologies are no longer the work of science fiction. They are reality and are already transitioning from the laboratories to the marketplace. This symposium highlights some of the cutting-edge innovations in quantum technologies: quantum cryptography, quantum electronics, and quantum sensors.
Organizer:
Martin Laforest, University of Waterloo
Moderator:
Raymond Laflamme, University of Waterloo
Speakers: