We recognized World Quantum Day in the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with a week of special events:
April 14th, 2024 | Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering (UMD) and Online
Quantum for All at the University of Maryland
Photo by Riley N. Sims/University of Maryland
We celebrated World Quantum Day with the University of Maryland at this special event, featuring:
- A fireside chat with Nobel Laureate William D. Phillips, RQS Senior Investigator, NIST Fellow in the Joint Quantum Institute, and world-renowned science communicator,
- An inside look into why the United Nations designated 2025 the International Year of Quantum with Yanne Chembo, U.N. Delegate and Director of UMD's Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics,
- An overview of the Capital of Quantum with John Sawyer, Executive Director of the MQA, and
- A sneak-peek at UMD’s Quantum & Arts projects with Craig Kier, Director of UMD's Arts for All Initiative.
- Demonstrations of quantum effects and technologies, including superconducting levitation and nitrogen-vacancy diamond microscopes.
- Opportunities to learn more about quantum resources in the region, including the Quantum Startup Foundry, National Quantum Laboratory, educational and student programs.
- Interactive Quantum & Arts exhibits, including VR visualization of some of the key core concepts underlying quantum mechanics, the Quantum-Steampunk Engine, and collaborative quantum poetry with LiteraryDJ.
During the showcase, representatives from the RQS Student-Postdoc Council hosted a table featuring our quantum activity kits for K-12 classrooms and information about the institute’s research and outreach programs.
April 12th, 2025 | Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD & April 19th, 2025 | University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Teacher Professional Development Workshops: Bring Quantum to Your Classroom!
Using the RQS quantum activity kits and other curricular materials, over 30 local middle and high school teachers from eight different Maryland and DC public school districts learned how to implement quantum concepts in their physics, computer science, or engineering classrooms. Co-hosted with the Morgan State University Department of Physics, the plans and research findings from these workshops will be shared with the wider quantum education community as an invited talk at the 2025 AAPT Summer Meeting.
April 17th, 2025 | Stamp Student Union (UMD) and Online
Quantum & Public Policy Panel Discussion
Panelists
Constanza M. Vidal Bustamante, Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Zachary Goff-Eldredge, Program Manager for Quantum Information Science at the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of High Energy Physics
Emily Grumbling, Research Staff Member at the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI)
Jake Taylor, Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Through a series of short talks and a panel discussion on career pathways for scientists interested in public policy, the event introduced graduate and undergraduate students, postdocs, and early-career scientists to the landscape of organizations, programs, and policies that will guide and shape their own careers. This panel featured representatives from organizations across the quantum policy landscape, offering multiple perspectives on this exciting field.