Mini-Symposium with the Quantum for Life Center of Copenhagen University
Cultivating the strong bonds between the Quantum for Life Center of the University of Copenhagen and the Quantum Center at ETH Zurich.
Copenhagen and Zurich were home to many of the pioneers in the field of quantum physics — Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, among numerous others. And in both cities, research in quantum science and technology never seized to flourish.
Just how active and innovative the quantum communities in Copenhagen and Zurich are today was on full display on January 18, 2023, when the external pageQuantum for Life Centre of Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen met the Quantum Center, ETH Zurich for a mini-symposium, held on the Hönggerberg campus of ETH Zürich.
A particular honour was the welcome address by Florence Tinguely Mattli, the Ambassador of Switzerland in Denmark, who — talking by video link — emphasised the special connection between these two centres of quantum research. Eugene Polzik, Jean-Baptiste Béguin, Tobias Donner, Yiwen Chu, Matthias Christandl and Markus Reiher then discussed newest research results, ranging from quantum simulation to quantum computing for molecular biology (DownloadAgenda (PDF, 130 KB)).
In the afternoon, the participants switched from the lecture hall to research laboratories, touring the labs of Tilman Esslinger, Jonathan Home and Andreas Wallraff.
The bonds between the Quantum for Life Centre in Copenhagen, dedicated to exploring the impact of quantum computing for life sciences, and the Quantum Center at ETH Zurich, the hub for coordinating scientific and structural activities in quantum science and technology across ETH departments, go far beyond historical common ground. The chemist Markus Reiher is a member of both centres, and the physicist Matthias Christandl, one of the four PIs of the Quantum for Life Center, was before moving to Copenhagen an SNSF Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at ETH Zurich. Beyond that, there are countless ties between individual group. So yesterday's event felt precisely as one would expect — a meeting between long-term friends, both intrigued by the marvels of the quantum world.