Oct 19 2013
The Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre was featured as a location in Doors Open Waterloo Region on Saturday, September 21. This year’s Doors Open theme was modern architecture. More than 1,200 visitors toured the Lazaridis Centre to explore the one-of-a-kind facility that is home to the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN).
Visitors had the opportunity to do more than just tour the building – they had the chance to learn about the science happening here. Not only were there hands-on science exhibits in the Kid Zone and Discovery Zone hosted by Engineering Science Quest, Let’s Talk Science and IQC students, there was also the Ask the Scientist area where the public could question researchers about their work.
IQC PhD student Chris Pugh shares his experience at Doors Open: "Interacting with the public and sharing the research that I work on is one of the most amazing feelings. Having everyone from young children to experienced adults ask questions and show interest in the research I do at IQC makes me feel as though what I do is important. I consider outreach to be an extremely important aspect of my research and really enjoy opportunities like the Discovery Zone at Doors Open Waterloo to share my knowledge with the community."
A full house of curious young minds were entertained and educated at the Q-Kids Science Show with Martin Laforest in the morning. Later, David Cory, Canada Excellence Research Chair, told ghost stories about the quantum world to a sold-out crowd in the afternoon, sharing some of the ways that quantum devices will change the world.
Source: http://iqc.uwaterloo.ca/