Let's celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology
As part of the International Year of Quantum Physics, declared by UNESCO, the Quantum Physics Department at CentraleSupélec has set up the "QPhysClub" project in partnership with counterparts at the University of Central Florida.
The aim of this project is to bring together students from various institutions and high school/college teacher-researchers and professors around the transmission of knowledge, by peers, on the concepts of quantum physics, their technological applications as well as on the history of the emergence of this discipline. More generally, "QPhysClub" is a project whose aim is to introduce and support students in their understanding and discovery of the concepts of quantum physics.
To raise awareness among CentraleSupélec students and students from other educational establishments, two actions led by the project groups “QPhysClub: Theater” and “QPhysClub: Initiation” have been scheduled for May 2025.
- On May 16, 2025, second-year CentraleSupélec students who are members of the "QPhysClub: Theater" gave a presentation on the birth and history of quantum physics to first-year students during the quantum and statistical physics refresher course. The QPhysClub: Theater group aims to introduce a wider audience to the concepts of quantum physics from an artistic perspective. This educational initiative aims to promote their success. During the day, nearly 120 first- and second-year students were able to attend this presentation.
- The day of May 22, 2025, allowed students from two different high schools, who came for the occasion, to discover the School and the activities of "QPhysClub: Initiation and Theater". The morning was dedicated to visiting the School's laboratories. The students were then able to attend a plenary presentation in the afternoon by students from the two high school classes, with their supervisors (52 students and 6 teachers). This day brought together a total of 80 high school students accompanied by their teachers, and second-year students as well as teachers from CentraleSupélec.
Upstream, the students from the two high schools, present on May 22, worked, between February and May 2025 as part of the “QPhysClub: Initiation” group, on introductory projects to the concepts of quantum physics and their technological applications such as: STM (scanning tunneling microscopy), Quantum Computing, AI for Quantum Sciences, CO monitoring or Geiger counter and radioactive decay.
Supervised by students from the school, the high school students were introduced to project-based work. This preparation period allowed CentraleSupélec students to leverage their knowledge of physics, mathematics, and algorithmic programming, among other areas, while developing new skills not only in science but also in group work, communication, leadership, and innovation, similar to the DPL workshops offered at the school.
Beneficial for high school students, the QPhysClub: Initiation project was also an opportunity for the CentraleSupélec student supervisors to work in a practical role as project facilitator and coordinator, a change of position that will be beneficial to them in their future engineering careers.
Thanks to these two actions initiated by Mehdi Adrien Ayouz, Lecturer-HDR, in conjunction with numerous people involved in these projects (second-year students at CentraleSupélec and high school teachers), a total of 200 people were introduced to the fundamentals of quantum science and technology.
