Last August, the tenth biannual conference of the Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC-X) was held at the Fields Institute. A total of 120 participants and attendees from different stages of their careers gathered to learn from one other. Over the years, this conference has set a unique standard for interaction. Unlike many other conferences that draw large crowds, CQIQC-X has capped attendance to less than 130 participants. This has fostered a more personal and engaging atmosphere, allowing attendees to interact meaningfully with one another.
Speakers at CQIQC-X included some of the most prominent figures in the field, as well as mid-career and emerging researchers. The conference also provided a platform for students, who presented around 50 posters. These poster sessions offered students invaluable opportunities to engage directly with leading experts.
Unlike many other conferences that focus on specific subfields, CQIQC-X encompasses discussions on a broad spectrum of quantum information science while maintaining an intimate setting conducive to interaction and collaboration. This approach has proved useful: “The conference serves to foster collaborations between U of T researchers and the international scientific community. Based on past experience and feedback, we know that attendees gain appreciation to U of T’s broad strength in quantum science, and they ‘feel connected’ to the University and the Centre,” says Dvira Segal, CQIQC Director and Professor at the Department of Chemistry.
One of the most significant events of the conference was the awarding of the CQIQC’s John Stewart Bell Prize for advancements in quantum mechanics. This year, the prize was presented to John Preskill, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology. Preskill delivered an insightful talk on “Learning in a Quantum World,” the research field on which he was awarded. To honor him, the organizing committee invited some of his former students to speak: Daniel Gottesman from the University of Maryland and Nicole Yunger Halpern from the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology; both gave excellent talks based on their own research. The session, which began with a humorous introduction by another former student of Preskill, Professor Hoi-Kwong Lofrom the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, was chaired by Professor Paul Brumer from the Department of Chemistry.
You can find the recordings of all the sessions on the CQIQC-X website.
By Pamela Fuentes Peralta
