Event Archive

Greg Bentsen, The College of William & Mary
Brody Lab - Hegeman 107  12:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Quantum technologies promise to revolutionize information processing and precision measurement tasks. Key to these applications is the generation of many-body entanglement, which describes correlations between particles that cannot be explained classically. Whereas conventional quantum algorithms — such as Shor’s algorithm for factoring large numbers — rely on highly structured patterns of entanglement, in this talk I will introduce a class of `scrambled’ quantum states featuring entanglement that is random and unstructured. These scrambled states can be generated from short random quantum circuits with randomly chosen gates at each step. Despite their lack of structure, the resulting many-body states can be harnessed for precision metrology applications and for establishing tests of quantum advantage over classical hardware.


Prof. Bentsen is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of Quantum Information Science (QIS) and Atomic Molecular & Optical physics (AMO). He obtained his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2019 working in the Schleier-Smith lab, where he helped to design, build, and operate a Cavity QED experiment engineered to rapidly entangle ensembles of Rubidium 87 atoms for applications in precision metrology and fundamental studies of quantum many-body physics. During his postdoc in the Swingle group at Brandeis University he focused on theoretical models of quantum information scrambling including studies of entanglement phase transitions in random quantum circuits. He is currently a faculty member in the Physics Department at The College of William & Mary, where his research group focuses on applying random quantum circuit models to information processing and precision metrology applications.

  Mary C. Krembs, Bard College Director, Citizen Science and Mathematics Faculty, Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Brody Lab - Hegeman 107  12:00 pm EST/GMT-5
To teach, or not to teach: that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of high school physics students… or take a different path? Join us for an informal conversation about the pros and cons of pursuing a career in high school teaching for science and math majors. We’ll dive into the real-world factors that influence this choice including finances, lifestyle, social temperament, and career mobility. The session will also feature insights into the Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching program, where Mary has taught for over 18 years.

Bruno Becher, LIGO MIT
Olin Language Center, Room 115  12:00 pm EST/GMT-5
This talk outlines the day-to-day life of a technician at LIGO MIT. Mr. Becher will discuss his experience after graduating from Bard’s physics program, followed by examples of current projects that highlight hands-on design, assembly, and troubleshooting.