The Conversation – Karen J. Matsler
The first time I heard about quantum information science, I was at a teacher development workshop in Canada in 2008.
I already knew that quantum science was the study of the smallest objects in nature. I also knew that information science was the study of computers and the internet. What I didn’t know was that quantum information science – sometimes called QIS – was a new field of science and technology, combining physical science, math, computer science and engineering.
Until then, I didn’t realize how QIS was key to so many everyday items, like cellphones, satellites, MRI machines, lasers, cybersecurity and solar technology. I was a physics teacher and didn’t know this, so I knew other teachers didn’t either. And if they didn’t know about it, that meant K-12 students were definitely not learning it.