Session Chair: Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, The Univ. of Queensland (Australia)

1:00 PM - 1:05 PM
Welcome and Opening Remarks

1:05 PM - 1:45 PM
Quantum structured light takes shape

Andrew Forbes Univ. of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa)

Quantum structured light offers a roadmap to high-dimensional and multi-dimensional quantum states by exploiting all of light’s many degrees of freedom at the quantum level. In this talk, I will review the recent progress in quantum entanglement of photons in their spatial degree of freedom: quantum structured light. I will explain how to create high-dimensional quantum states in the laboratory, how to measure them, and review the present state of the art in the field. I will show how the patterns can be abstracted, mixing degrees of freedom to produce quantum topologies in light, introducing new paradigms for quantum state observables and classification. Finally, I will outline the advantages and disadvantages of using such single photon and entangled states in real-world applications, offering a perspective on the present challenges and exciting opportunities in the field.

Prof. Andrew Forbes (SPIE Fellow) is a Distinguished Professor at the U. Witwatersrand (South Africa) where leads a laboratory for Structured Light. Andrew is active in promoting photonics in Africa and is Director of South Africa’s Quantum Technology Initiative. He has won several awards, including the Georg Forster prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for outstanding contributions to photonics and the SAIP Gold Medal, the highest award for physics in South Africa. Andrew spends his time having fun with the taxpayers’ money, exploring structured light in classical and quantum optics.

1:45 PM - 2:25 PM
Optical atomic clocks: refining the definition of time and advancing the future of metrology

Tara Fortier National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States)

Atomic clocks first developed in the 1950’s have become a mainstay of modern synchronization, navigation and communication. With an unprecedented accuracy, now surpassing 1 part in 10^18, optical atomic clocks would lose only 1 s per 15 billion years, could measure a meter stick with a length resolution at quark level, and are currently being used as tabletop experiments to search for physics beyond the standard model. This talk will take a forward-facing perspective on the evolution of atomic clocks, their enabling technologies, and developing applications. More specifically, I will explore the optical technology at the heart of atomic clocks and how these enabling technologies will help serve to advance the field of precision metrology.

Dr. Tara Fortier is a physicist and project leader in NIST’s Time and Frequency Division. She leads a research group that performs both basic and applied research in the areas of laser source development for quantum networking and for precision optical and microwave measurement of atomic clocks. Dr. Fortier is broadly involved with leadership in several scientific organizations, including NIST’s Women in STEM executive board, as a NIST representative to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy working group on National Quantum Workforce Development, as well as a fellow for the Optical Society of America and the American Physical Society. She was also the 2023 winner of the SPIE Harold E. Edgerton Award in High-Speed Optics. Finally, she is committed to the advancement and advocacy of underrepresented groups in STEM.

2:25 PM - 3:05 PM
Eric Cornell

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Event Details

FORMAT: General session with live audience Q&A to follow presentations.
MENU: Coffee, decaf, and tea will be available outside the presentation room.
SETUP: Theater style seating.