From 14 to 17 September, OPN is filing stories from the all-virtual 2020 Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FiO+LS) and the first OSA Quantum 2.0 meeting, providing coverage of selected sessions, talks and events. We’re posting our dispatches from the meetings on this page. You can also follow our coverage on OPN Twitter, and find additional content from the meeting at OSA’s YouTube channel and the society’s public-affairs newsroom.
Platforms
Of Rydberg Blockades and Quantum Repeaters
In the final keynote talk at the OSA Quantum 2.0 Conference, Harvard University’s Mikhail Lukin touched on work in diverse systems to enable quantum simulations and communications. [17 September 2020, 17:30 EDT]
The Pandemic
Chasing COVID-19 with Photonics
A special two-part session at FiO+LS 2020 focused on the ways that optics and photonics are being used to combat the coronavirus. [17 September 2020, 15:00 EDT]
Computing
Quantum “Software” for Hard Physical Problems
A keynote talk at OSA’s Quantum 2.0 meeting highlighted that, even in the absence of universal quantum computers, quantum algorithms can offer a powerful tool for physical insight. [17 September 2020, 13:30 EDT]
Astrophysics
Sensitivity Through Squeezing
OPN talks with Nergis Mavalvala, whose FIO+LS plenary talk recounted some amazing recent improvements to the LIGO and Virgo laser-interferometer gravitational-wave observatories. [16 September 2020, 13:15 EDT]
Education
How to Build a Quantum-Ready Workforce
A panel at OSA’s Quantum 2.0 meeting looked at the issues involved in moving from an academic to an industrial perspective. [16 September 2020, 11:45 EDT]
Sensors
Frequency Comb Spectroscopy: Present and Future
A FiO 2020 Visionary Speaker describes the state of the field and where it’s headed next. [16 September 2020, 06:00 EDT]
Careers
Career Advice from Elsa Garmire and Bill Phillips
Two optics luminaries shared stories and insights from their impressive careers during a professional-development session at FiO+LS 2020. [15 September 2020, 17:30 EDT]
Communications
Putting the “Quantum” in Security
At OSA’s Quantum 2.0 conference, the founder of a European firm that helped pioneer quantum cryptography looked at data security now and in the future. [15 September 2020, 12:00 EDT]
Computing
Quantum Computing: The Platform Question
Speakers at OSA’s Quantum 2.0 conference looked at the state of the art in trapped-ion, trapped-atom and superconducting-qubit systems. [15 September 2020, 09:45 EDT]
AR/VR
Immersive VR Insights
An FiO 2020 Visionary Speaker describes her career creating immersive-reality systems—both before and after she acquired stereoscopic vision [14 September 2020, 17:45 EDT]
Computing
Under the Hood of Google’s Quantum Computer
To kick off OSA’s new Quantum 2.0 conference, a key member of the web giant’s quantum-computing squad recounted the road to Sycamore. [14 September 2020, 16:30 EDT]