Southwest Quantum Information and Technology (SQuInT)

The 10th Annual Workshop of the SQuInT Network took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Feb. 14-17, 2008. In attendance were 135 researchers across the wide range of disciplines that comprise Quantum Information Science, including physics, computer science, mathematics, electrical engineering, and chemistry. SQuInT particularly serves students who compromised 60% of the attendees and delivered both oral presentations and posters. Senior presenters included members the SQuInT nodes: UNM, LANL, SNL, UA, NIST, UCSD, UCSB, Caltech, USC, UCB, UO, UW, UCalagary, and others. In addition, there were invited speakers from both domestic and international institutions, including Prof. Serge Haroche (College de France, Paris), Prof. Hayden (McGill University), Prof. D’Ariano (University of Pavia, Italy), and Prof. Farhi (MIT). On the first day of the workshop, we inaugurated a new tutorial and pedagogical lecture series, oriented to new students and professionals in the field, in order to introduce basic concepts and give detailed lectures on new developments. Topics included, “detecting entanglement”, “measuring quantum coherence”, “convexity and optimization in quantum information”. Research presentations by invited, senior, and student speakers were delivered on the second and third days of the workshop, on topics ranging from quantum control of atoms and photons, to the quantum information theoretic description of black holes. There was also a vibrant poster session that went well into the evening on Friday night, and continued to generate discussion throughout the meeting. The full program can be found at http://qmc.phys.unm.edu/SQuInT/SQuInT08/. Quantum Information Science continues to generate tremendous enthusiasm, especially for students entering their PhD studies. SQuInT has played a central role, elevating the status of QIS in New Mexico on the international stage, and providing a network concentrated in the local community. This has been especially true in fostering collaborations between UNM and LANL’s Quantum Institute, which has been a key partner in SQuInT from its inception.