Quantum materials don't play by the laws of classical physics that govern everyday objects. Instead, they follow the strange, counterintuitive rules of quantum mechanics, the same physics that governs atoms and subatomic particles. Learn about how these materials could power the next wave of cutting-edge technology: computers that run dramatically faster, quantum computers immune to errors, sharper optical sensors, and even trains that levitate above their tracks.
Doors open 5:30 p.m.; speakers 6:00 p.m.
The Dance Hall, 7 Walker St., Kittery, Maine
Speakers
Piers Coleman, professor of physics, Rutgers University
Shawna Hollen, associate professor of physics, UNH
Fazel Tafti, associate professor of physics, Boston College
Tickets are now by donation but require registration.
SPEAKER BIOS
Shawna Hollen is a physicist at the University of New Hampshire who studies ultra-thin materials — sometimes just a single layer of atoms — using powerful microscopes that can probe individual atoms. She earned her Ph.D. from Brown University and did postdoctoral research at The Ohio State University studying graphene, a material made of a single layer of carbon. She is active in the broader physics community, including serving on the executive advisory board for the MonArk Quantum Foundry and the Northeast Quantum Forum.
Fazel Tafti is an associate professor of physics at Boston College. His research lab focuses on the discovery of new quantum materials with superconducting, magnetic, and topological functionality. Supported by National Science Foundation and the departments of Energy and Defense, his research program operates at the nexus of condensed matter physics and solid-state chemistry to design, synthesize, and characterize novel quantum materials for next-generation sensing and computing devices. Fazel completed his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and held postdoc positions at the University of Sherbrooke and Princeton University. His lab at Boston College is interdisciplinary between physics, chemistry, and materials science.