|
Solving the Big, Big Problems |
|||
|
Summer 2008 |
Two students stood at a blackboard, painstakingly writing out a complex mathematical equation that spread across almost the entire board. Seven more students sat around a large conference table, and five faculty members sat at desks or perched on a table on the periphery of the room. In smaller clusters, they quietly compared notes of their own as they watched the two write. Once finished, the pair at the board turned to the others and began explaining their work. “How did you arrive at this?” one of the faculty members asked, prompting a discussion of the students’ thought process. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, the two students turned back to the blackboard, erased a bit here and rewrote a bit there to rework the equation. This is the world of quantum information theory (QIT), and this summer three Susquehanna students, along with students from six other select colleges and universities in North America, experienced the trial-and-error process of studying this rapidly expanding field of mathematical physics. Their intensive eight-week study at Susquehanna was made possible through the Department of Mathematics’ Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will allow mathematics professors Lisa Orloff Clark, Jeffrey Graham and Alex Wilce to continue working with researchers and undergraduates on the project for the next two summers as well. REU grants awarded to other institutions have also allowed Susquehanna students to embark on similar study off campus. QIT has connections to both pure mathematics and theoretical computer science. It is “about leveraging quantum physics to find new ways of processing data,” says Graham. The research is, in part, an attempt to mix the languages of the different areas tied through QIT, and one thing it may do is help make encryption simpler in computer science. Because of the emerging possibilities and potential connections to security applications, the U.S. Department of Defense took an interest in Susquehanna’s REU and offered partial funding for it. To enhance the REU experience for the students, other experts in the field were invited to Susquehanna to take part in the research. Two of them — Howard Barnum of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Christopher Fuchs of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada — were part of the discussion this summer morning. Both are renowned experts in the field of quantum information theory, and Clark and Graham say their willingness to participate in the REU was a key factor in helping Susquehanna gain the grant. The REU journey began almost a year ago, as it took nearly six months just to prepare the grant application. NSF received 221 applications for this summer’s REUs, and from there, narrowed the field for further review by a panel. In all, 60 colleges and universities were granted REUs. Once Susquehanna was chosen for an REU, the task at hand was to select the nine students. Three slots went to Susquehanna students, with the remaining six going to students from Boston University, Haverford College, West Chester University, Grinnell College, Harvey Mudd College, and Lewis and Clark College. “Our goal is to provide research opportunities for students who wouldn’t otherwise have them,” says Clark. But with a limited number of slots, competition was intense. To qualify, students had to provide their transcripts, a list of their college mathematics courses and texts they’ve used, letters of recommendation from their faculty and a one-page personal statement discussing their desire to participate in the program. Graham says that next year the department anticipates receiving approximately 200 applications for these nine opportunities. CONTINUED: Solving the Big, Big Problems |
