This year, the NYUAD Hackathon is focusing on one of the most transformative technologies of our time: Quantum Computing (QC), along with the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in advancing QC, while addressing the challenges outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We are proud to take part in the global celebration activities of the UN’s declaration of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ).
Sivanujan Suthaharan, a master’s student from Illinois State University Department of Chemistry, will present a seminar titled “Molecular Self-Assembly: A Lego Movie Through the Lens of Quantum Mechanical Simulations” at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025, in Julian Hall, room 225. Refreshments will be served prior to the seminar in Julian Hall, room 224.
European Researcher’s Night is the biggest science festival in Slovakia, and it brings news from the world of research and innovation in an inspiring and unique way.
The festival is traditionally held on the last Friday of September in Bratislava, Košice, Banská Bystrica, Žilina, Poprad, and other accompanying locations. The day-long program (9 am to 11 pm) offers a series of scientific presentations, discussions, experiments, workshops, technological attractions and so much more!
The scientific community is increasingly confronting the limitations of traditional predictive models and linear approaches in analyzing complex systems. Chaos, once understood as a synonym for disorder, is now seen as an inherent property of dynamic processes, where sensitivity to initial conditions and nonlinearity determine their evolution. Instead of perceiving uncertainty as an obstacle, we can interpret it as a catalyst for scientific discoveries and technological innovations.
Last year’s theme of complexity highlighted the interdisciplinary connections in research. This year, as part of the Night of Science, we will explore chaos as a fundamental mechanism of adaptation, evolution, and transformation in various systems. The event will open discussions on how scientific disciplines approach uncertainty and nonlinearity and what paradigmatic shifts these phenomena imply.
At the quantum level, uncertainty is a fundamental property of systems. Quantum fluctuations, state superposition, and wave function collapse challenge classical notions of predictability and deterministic understanding of reality. Quantum physics thus provides a natural link between chaotic phenomena and the emergence of new orders, where uncertainty becomes a source of technological innovations.
The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025 offers a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between chaotic processes and quantum mechanics. Quantum algorithms utilize chaotic behavior to solve nonlinear problems, while quantum communication protocols introduce new standards of security and efficiency in information transmission.
In natural systems, chaos does not merely represent entropy but also stabilization and emergent organization. From climate processes and ecosystem interactions to neural networks and evolutionary mechanisms – nonlinear dynamics lead to the formation of self-organizing structures and adaptive strategies.
Similar principles apply to social and technological systems. Financial markets, digital networks, and information ecosystems exhibit chaotic behavioral patterns, where even minimal perturbations significantly influence global outcomes. This presents challenges for modeling, regulating, and managing complex systems.
Night of Science 2025 will offer an interdisciplinary perspective on the connection between chaos, quantum technologies, natural phenomena, and social dynamics. We will explore how uncertainty shapes innovation processes and what epistemological and technological implications we can extrapolate for a better future. Chaos is not just a challenge – it represents a potential key to new scientific paradigm shifts.
This is an annual inter-college competition open to all secondary colleges in the Republic of Mauritius. This competition, sponsored by Omnicane Foundation through its Corporate Social Responsibility engagement, was established in 1971 and enables students each year to submit their project on a theme of national and international interest. Thus, each year, some 300 students (in teams of 5 students each) submit their projects based on research work, interviews, and discussions.
We have each year a competent independent jury panel chosen in relation to the theme who evaluate some 60 projects received before preselecting shortlisted teams who are invited to make an oral presentation based on which the winner and the two runners-up are awarded. To celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, this year’s theme is about finding innovative solutions for Mauritius’s most pressing challenges as a SIDS: Limited Arable land, vulnerability to climate change, and food security.
We are thus calling on the visionary minds of our youth to explore how quantum science and technology, through data analysis, crop improvement, and sustainable resource management, can help enhance agricultural productivity while promoting sustainability and resilience in our island nation. The project was launched on 10th February 2025, and the submission deadline is the first week of May 2025, while the winners and runner-ups will be announced in August 2025. It is noted that this project competition is endorsed by the Ministry of Education & Human Resources in Mauritius.
Get ready for Quantum World Congress 2025, happening from September 16th to 18th at Capital One Hall in Greater Washington. Join us as the world’s quantum ecosystem comes together to bring a quantum-ready future into focus. From groundbreaking keynotes to cutting-edge discussions and unparalleled networking, this is where the quantum revolution happens. Mark your calendars—you won’t want to miss it!
Background:
Since 2022, the world’s Quantum ecosystem has gathered to bring a quantum-ready future into focus. Quantum World Congress is the world’s premier gathering for quantum technology leaders, innovators, and visionaries. The 2024 event took place from September 9th to 11th in Greater Washington, uniting global experts from industry, government, and academia to explore the latest breakthroughs in quantum research, applications, and commercialization. With keynote speakers, interactive sessions, and cutting-edge exhibits, Quantum World Congress fosters collaboration and accelerates the development of the global quantum ecosystem. This annual event highlights the pivotal role of quantum technology in shaping the future, building on Greater Washington’s leadership as a hub for innovation.
Insider Brief:
Quantum has always been a force of contradiction—both foundational and elusive, shaping the modern world while remaining an enigma to most. It exists in the devices we use, the systems we rely on, yet it is spoken of in paradoxes, understood by few.
The opening ceremony of the International Year of Quantum was an acknowledgment of this duality—not just a reflection on a century of discovery, but a call to shape what comes next. It was a gathering of scientists, policymakers, and industry leaders, aligned not only in their ambition but in their responsibility to make quantum’s future more tangible, more accessible, and more inclusive.
UNESCO, the American Physical Society, and organizations like The Quantum Insider are championing this year-long initiative to bring quantum into public consciousness—not as a distant theoretical field, but as a potential tool to impact society at every level. The mission is not just to celebrate progress but to ensure that the next era of quantum is one that belongs to all.
The ceremony was not just a stage for reflection—it was a stage for alignment. On stage, we confirmed as a community that we are on the right page, with common themes of accessibility, education, responsible development, and tools to work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Off stage, conversations deepened, partnerships formed, and the work of the future was not just imagined but actively set in motion.
Building something new requires an ability to see beyond what exists and take the next best step forward. The International Year of Quantum is not just about celebrating achievements; it is about pushing past barriers—technical, conceptual, institutional—to ensure that quantum’s promise is realized for all.
Celia Merzbacher, Executive Director of QED-C, captured this vision: “The International Year of Quantum, I believe, is an opportunity—because it’s broad, it’s inclusive, and it’s raising awareness. While QED-C is very much focused on advancing the commercial industry, that industry depends on the entire innovation ecosystem—from research to product development. I always say: quantum is global. Innovation is global. Talent is globally distributed, and the markets are global. The International Year of Quantum is about bringing together as many stakeholders as possible.”
And true inclusion is an active process—one that goes beyond awareness and requires sustained engagement across disciplines, industries, and communities. As the conversation deepened, a common thread emerged: progress in quantum will come not just from visionaries but from those who refine, challenge, and evolve ideas in real time. Allison Schwartz, Vice President of Global Government Relations & Public Affairs at D-Wave, reinforced this reality: “Being at the center of this industry—building applications today and providing real-time cloud access across 42 countries—gives us a unique opportunity to tap into new generations of innovators. We’re especially focused on those who aren’t just thinking theoretically but are asking, ‘What can I do today?’”
Quantum is not a solitary endeavor. It thrives on collaboration, on the merging of disciplines, on ideas that challenge conventional wisdom. Krysta Svore, Technical Fellow and Vice President of Advanced Quantum Development for Microsoft, emphasized this dynamic: “In computing, you always compare—you run it, measure against a baseline, and if it’s better, you use it. But in quantum computing, we haven’t been able to do that. The power today is that we are producing reliable quantum machines that can be integrated and layered onto existing workflows.”
The future of quantum cannot be built in isolation. It is not a closed-loop system, self-contained and exclusive to a handful of experts. It must be expansive, integrative, and, above all, inclusive.
Education stood as one of the ceremony’s most urgent themes. Digital literacy is foundational in today’s world, yet classical computer science remains absent from many K-12 curriculums. Mathematics and physics—essential to quantum computing—are often overlooked. If we do not prioritize these subjects early, we risk creating a future where only a select few have the knowledge and opportunity to engage with this technology in meaningful ways.
But waiting for the next generation to come of age is not an option. The urgency of quantum’s development requires a workforce that draws from all disciplines and industries. We need physicists, yes—but also electrical engineers, software developers, policymakers, and advocates. The success of quantum technology will not rest on scientists alone; it will require the efforts of an entire ecosystem.
Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum, put it bluntly: “A big part of the access challenge is workforce. For quantum to realize its full potential, it must evolve from a small set of people who have to labor inordinately hard against the systems of the world to do it right.”
Mitra Azizirad, President & COO of Strategic Missions & Technologies at Microsoft, expanded on this idea: “The first step for us—and what I’m most focused on—is identifying those initial hybrid applications. How do we work with our partners and customers to determine what they will be? Because when you think about the marriage of AI and quantum, there’s an incredible opportunity ahead.”
Jonathan Felbinger, Deputy Director of the QED-C, drew a parallel to AI: “I think this is a great opportunity to capture the public imagination—much like AI has. Every day, there’s something in the news about AI, and I’m sure kids today are thinking, ‘I want to work in AI. I want to learn AI.’ In a way, they’ve become AI-native, interacting with it, shaping it, and building awareness around it. I want that same level of public engagement for quantum—both in terms of understanding use cases and building the future workforce.”
Science does not exist in a vacuum, nor should it. The pursuit of knowledge is deeply human, driven by curiosity, by wonder, by the desire to push beyond the known. But awe alone is not enough. If we possess a technology, even in its early stages, that has the potential to address the world’s most profound challenges, then the responsibility to pursue it extends beyond personal ambition—it becomes an obligation to humanity.
Professor Yasser Omar, President of the Portuguese Quantum Institute, reminded attendees in his opening remarks on the second day of the event that “Basic science is a societal benefit.” But its impact depends on how we choose to apply it. The responsibility of scientific discovery does not lie solely with researchers in the lab—it extends to educators, policymakers, businesses, and individuals who seek to integrate and apply these discoveries for the benefit of society.
Hazra emphasized this dual responsibility: “Our job is to accelerate useful quantum computing for good—and each word in that is meaningful. Our role is to ensure we are accelerating both the rate of technology creation and its adoption. It does no good to develop technology and leave it in the lab. And it does no good to stop innovating just because democratizing that technology beyond the lab is getting harder.”
As with any powerful technology, ethical considerations and security risks must also be addressed. Merzbacher urged a balanced approach: “In the context of the International Year of Quantum, I think we should focus on the beneficial applications—whether it’s point-of-care diagnostics, improving weather forecasting to help farmers, or other positive impacts. As we develop these beneficial uses, national security controls will need to be targeted. Protections will still be necessary, but they should be narrowly focused to ensure that quantum’s positive applications can be widely shared and used.”
One of the most striking takeaways was the acknowledgment that progress is not always comfortable and quantum cannot afford to be an exclusive field. The future belongs to those willing to integrate it across industries, disciplines, and communities. The ceremony was a beginning, not an endpoint.
As Hazra observed, “The last three or four years—and even the last decade, before Quantinuum was formed—have been years of discovery. We’ve learned what works, and we’ve learned what doesn’t. Now, 2025 is the year of acceleration. I’m not saying we’ve solved all the problems, but we have a path—we have a map. And now, we’re moving faster along that map. The International Year of Quantum marks the year of accelerating useful quantum computing for good.”
The urgency is not just in the technology itself but in the decisions we make around it. The International Year of Quantum is not just a celebration; it is a challenge. A call to ensure that the foundations we build now will last. Science, after all, is not just about what we can do—it is about what we should do.
Azizirad, with passion and intention, captured the essence of this moment: “But right now—this moment—is the most exciting. Because we’re on the cusp of something where everything feels possible. We’re in the ‘art of the possible’ phase, where we’re truly ideating and layering quantum into what comes next.”
This piece was published on the Quantum Insider
In this new session of the public program Organismo Year One, Marina Otero, architect and researcher, and Manuel Correa, filmmaker, and researcher, will present the research and creative process behind the film that accompanies the video installation Building for Quantum. This work will be featured in the upcoming 19th edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale— “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective” —and will premiere during the event’s inauguration in May this year.
The film Building for Quantum follows the construction of the building that will host one of the few quantum computers in the world, the first in Spain. As quantum computing redefines the boundaries of knowledge, this film, still in process, examines the imaginaries and aspirations surrounding the arrival of this technology at the Quantum Basque Center in Donostia-San Sebastián. The film navigates the intersection of the physical and the philosophical within quantum architecture—juxtaposing the tangible, ordinary materials of brick and mortar with the meticulous precision required to sustain near-perfect vacuum chambers at temperatures colder than deep space.
The event will feature Aran García-Lekue, physicist and PhD in materials science and technology, who specializes in the development and application of computational tools for the simulation of quantum electronic properties at the nanoscale. With her, we will explore the principles of these theories, which have been counterintuitive for humans so far, and the horizons that may emerge from their instrumentalization. The three will engage in a conversation to unravel the potentials of this science and the paradigm shift it represents compared to classical mechanics, according to which we have traditionally organized our ways of living.
En esta nueva sesión del programa público Organismo Año Uno, Marina Otero, arquitecta e investigadora, y Manuel Correa, cineasta e investigador, presentarán la investigación y el proceso creativo que hay detrás de la película que acompaña a la videoinstalación Construir para Quantum. Esta obra se presentará en la próxima 19ª edición de la Bienal de Arquitectura de Venecia “Intelligens. Naturales. Artificial. Colectivo”- y se estrenará durante la inauguración del evento en mayo de este año.
La película Building for Quantum sigue la construcción del edificio que albergará uno de los pocos ordenadores cuánticos del mundo, el primero de España. Mientras la computación cuántica redefine las fronteras del conocimiento, esta película, aún en proceso, examina los imaginarios y aspiraciones que rodean la llegada de esta tecnología al Quantum Basque Center de Donostia-San Sebastián. La película navega por la intersección de lo físico y lo filosófico dentro de la arquitectura cuántica, yuxtaponiendo los materiales tangibles y ordinarios del ladrillo y el mortero con la meticulosa precisión necesaria para sostener cámaras de vacío casi perfectas a temperaturas más frías que el espacio profundo.
El acto contará con la presencia de Aran García-Lekue, física y doctora en ciencia y tecnología de materiales, especializada en el desarrollo y aplicación de herramientas computacionales para la simulación de propiedades electrónicas cuánticas a nanoescala. Con ella exploraremos los principios de estas teorías, hasta ahora contraintuitivas para el ser humano, y los horizontes que pueden surgir de su instrumentalización. Los tres entablarán una conversación para desentrañar los potenciales de esta ciencia y el cambio de paradigma que representa en comparación con la mecánica clásica, según la cual hemos organizado tradicionalmente nuestras formas de vida.
Lors de cette nouvelle session du programme public Organismo Year One, Marina Otero, architecte et chercheuse, et Manuel Correa, cinéaste et chercheur, présenteront la recherche et le processus créatif à l’origine du film qui accompagne l’installation vidéo Building for Quantum. Cette œuvre sera présentée lors de la 19e édition de la Biennale d’architecture de Venise, intitulée “Intelligens. Natural. Artificiel. Collective” – et sera présentée en avant-première lors de l’inauguration de l’événement en mai de cette année.
Le film Building for Quantum suit la construction du bâtiment qui accueillera l’un des rares ordinateurs quantiques au monde, le premier en Espagne. Alors que l’informatique quantique redéfinit les frontières de la connaissance, ce film, encore en cours de réalisation, examine les imaginaires et les aspirations qui entourent l’arrivée de cette technologie au Quantum Basque Center à Donostia-San Sebastián. Le film explore l’intersection du physique et du philosophique dans l’architecture quantique, juxtaposant les matériaux tangibles et ordinaires de la brique et du mortier à la précision méticuleuse requise pour maintenir des chambres à vide presque parfaites à des températures plus froides que celles de l’espace lointain.
L’événement accueillera Aran García-Lekue, physicienne et docteur en science et technologie des matériaux, spécialisée dans le développement et l’application d’outils informatiques pour la simulation des propriétés électroniques quantiques à l’échelle nanométrique. Avec elle, nous explorerons les principes de ces théories, qui ont été contre-intuitives pour les humains jusqu’à présent, et les horizons qui peuvent émerger de leur instrumentalisation. Tous trois engageront une conversation afin de découvrir les potentiels de cette science et le changement de paradigme qu’elle représente par rapport à la mécanique classique, selon laquelle nous avons traditionnellement organisé nos modes de vie.
Dans le cadre de l’Année internationale des sciences et technologies quantiques (AISQ), déclarée par les Nations unies pour 2025, le PQI – Institut quantique portugais et Vieira de Almeida organisent une session consacrée aux technologies quantiques (QT).
Cette initiative vise à sensibiliser le public à l’importance de la science quantique et de ses applications, ainsi qu’à encourager le débat public sur l’impact de ces technologies sur les secteurs économiques, en l’alignant sur les questions réglementaires.
*Cet événement est organisé en portugais.