Seminar - Education in Quantum Science at the Master’s Degree Level

The OIST Center for Quantum Technologies (OCQT), in collaboration with OIST's Visiting Program (TSVP) and Prof. Nic Shannon’s Theory of Quantum Matter Unit (TQM), is delighted to invite you to the following seminar.

Speaker:

Emeritus Professor Robert Joynt
Affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Title:

Education in Quantum Science at the Master’s Degree Level

Abstract:

Quantum science and quantum technology is becoming a significant growth area in the world economy.  As the science continues to engender marketable technology, workers will be needed from all educational levels. For these reasons, educational innovation from the elementary to the PhD level in quantum science and technology has been identified as a priority in many nations. This talk will focus on this type of education at the Master’s Degree (MS) level in the US. I will survey the development of such efforts from 2019 to the present.  Since this type of education is at an early stage of development, it is useful to compare and contrast the various approaches to MS-level education that are currently being tried at different institutions. Particular attention needs to be paid to the needs of prospective potential employers. I will give a detailed description of our experience with the MS program in Physics-Quantum Computing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Some things worked and some didn’t, and this has informed the evolution of the program. There should be some useful lessons here for others that wish to start new programs. I will conclude by giving some thoughts about the future of MS education in quantum science.         

Introduction

Prof. Robert (Bob) Joynt was a Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1986 to 2023 and is now Emeritus Professor. A distinguished theoretical physicist, he is visiting OIST for a month as a guest of the Theory of Quantum Matter Unit (TQM) and is affiliated with OIST's Visiting Program (TSVP).

Prof. Joynt is recognized for setting up the first Quantum Computing Masters Degree in the US and is considered an authority on Graduate Education for Quantum Science and Technology.

His research interests span Quantum Computing, Superconductivity, Quantum Hall Effect, and Neutron Stars.

Bio

Robert Joynt received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1982 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge and the Institute for Theoretical Physics at ETH-Zurich. He was Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1986 to 2023 and is now Emeritus Professor. He served as Department Chair and was the Founding Director of the MSc in Physics-Quantum Computing. He is Senior Fellow at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences in Beijing. His research has ranged from the quantum Hall effect to high-Tc superconductivity to neutron stars to quantum computing.

Host:

Prof. Nic Shannon

Zoom link

https://oist.zoom.us/s/95387062115