Rutgers University and the NJAAPT are co-sponsoring two workshops on quantum computing for high school teachers this summer. The goal of the workshops is to provide an introduction to quantum computing for high school teachers and to develop materials and activities for teaching quantum computing to high school students.
This introductory workshop will run for two weeks from Monday, June 28, to Friday, July 9, with the exception of Monday, July 5. This workshop will cover the basics of quantum mechanics, qubits, quantum entanglement, quantum circuits and quantum algorithms.
No mathemetics beyond algebra will be needed for this workshop.
There will be two, sessions each day one from 8:00 am to 9:45 am and a second from 10:15 am to noon.
The first session of each day will consist of classroom discussions. The second session of each day will involve group, hands-on activities using the IBM Qiskit package to compose quantum programs and run them on a quantum computer. Qiskit is an easily accessible platform that is excellent for involving high school students in quantum computing. Students readily become adept at it and many students world-wide have become enthusiasts. Your students will too.
Details of the second event (7/19-7/23) will be available on the website and shared separately by email.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Steve Schnetzer at <njteachers.quantum.computing@gmail.com>.
There is a possibility of obtaining university credit for attending the workshop. The standard Rutgers tuition rate would apply. If you would be interested in this option, please contact Prof. Schentzer at the email address above.
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Registration is free for NJAAPT members. Non-members can join NJAAPT for either 1 year ($11) or three years ($26) and then register. Registration closes June 4th.
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Quantum computing is currently one of the most exciting areas in both physics and computer science. It holds the promise of opening up nearly unimaginable possibilities in computation. Although the full power of quantum computing is likely more than a decade away, within the next few years quantum computers will begin to be applied to solving problems in chemistry, medicine and material science that are beyond the capability of any classical (digital) computer. There is a growing interest among both college and high school students in this rapidly advancing field and there will be a strong need for teachers able to meet this growing interest.
Quantum computing also provides an excellent way of introducing ideas of modern physics into the high school curriculum. Quantum mechanics can be introduced at a level readily accessible by high school students. Quantum computing involves only the simplest quantum system, the qubit, without the advanced mathematics needed for applying quantum mechanics to more complicated systems. Quantum computing also provides an excellent way of introducing mathematical concepts such as complex numbers and vector spaces.