Public Lectures
The University of Calgary's Institute for Quantum Science and Technology holds an annual public lecture on the topic of quantum information sciences and technologies.
Past public lectures
2012
 |
"From Einstein's LichtQuanten to Wheeler's delayed choice: wave particle duality for a single photon" Date: 26 April 2012 Since the early days of quantum mechanics, and still in Feynman's lectures on physics, interference between spatially separated trajectories of a single particle has not ceased to fascinate physicists. I will present a realization in optics of that GedankenExperiment, realized with a true single photon source. It has even allowed us to implement Wheeler's delayed choice experiment, emphasizing the weirdness of wave particle duality for a single particle. |
Alain Aspect is an internationally acclaimed physicist at the École Polytechnique in Paris. He is a pioneer in the foundations of quantum physics, including celebrated demonstrations of quantum non-locality (sometimes referred to as Einstein's spooky action at a distance). He received the 2010 Wolf Prize in Physics, which is one of the world's top science awards. In addition to his beautiful, convincing experiments, Dr. Aspect is famous for the clarity and general appeal of his presentations.
2011
 |
"Quantum Technologies for the 21st Century" Date: 22 September 2011 Professor Sir Peter Knight FRS is Principal of the Kavli Royal Society International Centre and holds an emeritus position at Imperial College London. He has made numerous contributions to quantum physics, which have been recognized through prestigious awards including the Thomas Young and the Glazebrook Medals of the U.K. Institute of Physics, the Ives Medal of the Optical Society of America, the Royal Medal of the Royal Society and being knighted by the Queen in 2005. Until last year, Sir Peter was Chair of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council at the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence and continues as a science advisor to the U.K. Government. |
2010
 |
"The Limits of Information and Black Holes" Date: 2 June 2010 Professor Bekenstein was John Wheeler's doctoral student at Princeton University and is now Polak Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Hebrew University. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and a recipient of the Israel Prize. He discovered the theory of black hole thermodynamics, which resulted in the famous Bekenstein-Hawking theory of black-hole radiation. |
Professor Bekenstein will tell us the absolute limit to information storage in any region of space and time by thinking of our world as a boundary for a larger-dimensional universe.