Australian Institute of Physics

South Australian Branch

Notice of a
FREE PUBLIC LECTURE
presented by the
Australian Institute of Physics
(SA branch)

http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/aip-sa aip-sa@physics.adelaide.edu.au

Ph: (08) 8201 2093 or (08) 8277 7036 (a.h.) Fax: (08) 8201 2905

Post: AIP-SA secretary, c/o SoCPES, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001

at 7:30 pm on Friday 11th August 2006 in

Union Hall at the University of Adelaide

" Einstein’s Revolution: Quantum and Relativity Technology for the 21st Century."

by Professor David Jamieson

School of Physics, University of Melbourne

Abstract: The revolutionary ideas put forward by Albert Einstein one hundred years ago are very counter intuitive yet immensely successful at describing the physical world. In the 21st century, these ideas are forming the basis of new and useful technologies. Einstein's theory of relativity has already given us the global positioning system and will drive the new Melbourne synchrotron. But his most revolutionary idea, of the light quantum, has led to the concept for a radical new type of computer that uses the strange rules of quantum mechanics to process information. Successful development of this and other quantum technologies requires overcoming formidable scientific and technical obstacles. We will need to manipulate and interrogate single atoms with unprecedented precision and it is likely the theory of relativity will play an important role. This lecture looks at the emergence of quantum and relativity technology and how we are building the first quantum machines.

Biography: David Jamieson is a Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne. He is the director of the Melbourne node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computer Technology. This Centre, which consists of more than 90 staff along the east coast of Australia, is working on new ways of storing and processing information using the laws of quantum mechanics. He has given 18 invited talks on the technology and applications of focused ion beams and quantum computation at international conferences and seminars between 2000 and 2004 and has presented more than 20 popular lectures on fundamental questions in Physics over the same period. He has served on the committees of international conferences and review committees and is on the editorial board of the journal Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B. In the period 2000-04 he was the chief investigator on research grants totalling more than $7.5M and presently employs 13 staff from these grants. He has been a finalist in the Australian Awards for University Teaching and has published over 160 papers in scientific journals and 1 book. In the Einstein International Year of Physics 2005 he was elected President of the Australian Institute of Physics.