Department of Physics and Astronomy
Official opening event on Dec. 15, 2009
at Auditorium, Quantum building, University Hill, Turku
Quantum mechanics has governed the development of physics for hundred years by now. It still continues to provide new features and fascinating surprises that affect our fundamental understanding of nature, and which also lead to innovative applications.
Research on basic quantum phenomena has a strong presence in Turku at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and now five internationally known research groups in the field have decided to strengthen their collaboration by forming the Turku Centre for Quantum Physics - TCQP. The activities of the Centre started in September 2009, and now it is time for official opening ceremonies.
Program:
| (9:45-10:15 Coffee and bisquits for early arrivals) | |
| 10:15 |
Opening speeches Jarmo Hietarinta, the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Kalle-Antti Suominen, F, the Head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| 10:35 |
Mysteries and Applications of Quantum Physics Hugo Zbinden, GAP-Optique, Department of Physics, University of Geneva, Switzerland Discussion |
| 11:35 |
The Road to Quantum Optics Stig Stenholm, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden |
| 12:15 | Lunch break |
| 13:15 |
Fifty years of spin-polarized hydrogen research: From chemistry to quantum mechanics Simo Jaakkola, Wihuri Physical Laboratory |
| 13:45 |
Short presentations by the senior researchers at the Centre Pekka Lahti, Sabrina Maniscalco, Juha-Pekka Pellonpää, Jyrki Piilo, Kalle-Antti Suominen, and Sergey Vasiliev |
| 14:55 |
Final words Kalle-Antti Suominen |
| 15:00 | Posters and refreshments in the Auditorium Lobby |
The opening event is held in English throughout, and it is free and open to all.
Web pages of the Centre
Speakers:
Hugo Zbinden is an internationally acclaimed experimentalist with ground-laying work on quantum cryptography, single-photon detectors and quantum teleportation. He has pioneered the field of quantum communications e.g. by sending quantum signals via ordinary telecommunication channels under the Lake Geneva.
Stig Stenholm has been one of the key figures in the development of quantum optics for several decades by now. Now retired from KTH, Stockholm, he worked at the University of Helsinki until 1997. He has contributed to the theoretical understading of lasers and laser spectroscopy, laser cooling of atoms, laser-induced processes in atoms and molecules, and the quantum nature of light and matter waves. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Simo Jaakkola, now retired, is the former leader of the atomic hydrogen group at the Wihuri Physical Laboratory. His achievements include the experiment (together with Sergey Vasiliev) which demonstrated the first 2D quasi-condensation of an atomic quantum gas, in 1997.