Outreach Talk for the General Public
At the Dawn of the Second Quantum Revolution
Jürgen Mlynek
(Professor Emeritus, Humboldt University of Berlin,
Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board of the European Quantum Flagship)
(Professor Emeritus, Humboldt University of Berlin,
Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board of the European Quantum Flagship)
Date: Monday 8 July 2019
Time: 17:00
Venue: Sala 1, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon
Note: Entrance is free. No registration is necessary.
Time: 17:00
Venue: Sala 1, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon
Note: Entrance is free. No registration is necessary.
Abstract:
Quantum physics was created in Europe in the first decades of the twentieth century by a generation of young physicists who are now household names, like Einstein, Schrödinger and Curie. They have fundamentally changed our understanding of how light and matter behave at extremely small scales. Their discoveries have also deeply impacted our daily life: Breakthrough technologies resulting from the first quantum revolution were, for example, the transistor and the laser, without which current computers, mobile phones and the Internet would be unthinkable.
One hundred years on, superposition and entanglement have proved to be some of the most ground-breaking concepts in physics. Meanwhile the global race to reap the benefits of previously untapped quantum effects is becoming ever fiercer. To retain scientific leadership in this field, the European Commission has launched an ambitious initiative with €1 billion funding and a 10-year time horizon. Called the Quantum Flagship, the project aims to place Europe at the forefront of the second quantum revolution now unfolding worldwide, bringing transformative advances to science, industry and society.
The lecture will offer an overview of the historical context, the status quo and the new horizons of developments in Europe. Furthermore, it will provide a global outlook on how economic powerhouses like the USA and China are seeking to pave the way for breakthroughs in quantum technology.
One hundred years on, superposition and entanglement have proved to be some of the most ground-breaking concepts in physics. Meanwhile the global race to reap the benefits of previously untapped quantum effects is becoming ever fiercer. To retain scientific leadership in this field, the European Commission has launched an ambitious initiative with €1 billion funding and a 10-year time horizon. Called the Quantum Flagship, the project aims to place Europe at the forefront of the second quantum revolution now unfolding worldwide, bringing transformative advances to science, industry and society.
The lecture will offer an overview of the historical context, the status quo and the new horizons of developments in Europe. Furthermore, it will provide a global outlook on how economic powerhouses like the USA and China are seeking to pave the way for breakthroughs in quantum technology.
Speaker's bio:
Jürgen Mlynek is the Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board of the European Commission’s Quantum Flagship. His main fields of research are experimental quantum optics and atomic physics. He served as Vice-President of the German Research Foundation and later as President of the Humboldt University of Berlin. From 2005 until 2015, he was President of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, the largest research organization in Germany. Since 2015 he continues to enable pioneering scientific work through supervisory and advisory roles in German, European and international endeavours.
Organized by:
Supported by:
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and FCT project UID/EEA/50008/2019.
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Event poster available here.