We are working on several quantum education projects looking at various ways to teach students the knowledge and skills needed to work with quantum experiments. Here at CU Boulder, there is a new senior capstone course where students partner with a company in the quantum industry for a year-long authentic project. We are investigating how students’ perceptions about, and interest in, the quantum industry change throughout this year-long course.
Technologies such as quantum computing, networking, and sensing are moving out of the laboratory to applications in the wider world. These technologies are being developed and disseminated by a broad range of companies that make up the Quantum Industry (see, for example, the Quantum Economic Development Consortium). We are interested in learning how best higher-education institutions can adapt their existing curricula and degree programs to meet the needs of this new industry.
Physics Frontiers Centers (PFCs)
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public. Read more about this program at the NSF website.
