Nicole Yunger Halpern on quantum steampunk

Conversations at the Perimeter

Nicole Yunger Halpern reenvisions 19th-century thermodynamics for the 21st century, using the mathematical toolkit of quantum information theory. She is a fellow of the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS), a theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland. She is also the author of Quantum Steampunk: The Physics of Yesterday’s Tomorrow, a book that blends the topic of quantum thermodynamics with the steampunk genre of art and literature, juxtaposing a Victorian aesthetic with futuristic technologies. She tells co-hosts Lauren and Colin about the inspirations behind her work – scientific and artistic – and explains how fundamental ideas in quantum information theory are reshaping science and technology. View the episode transcript here.

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Conversations at the Perimeter is co-hosted by Perimeter Teaching Faculty member Lauren Hayward and journalist-turned-science communicator Colin Hunter. In each episode, they chat with a guest scientist about their research, the challenges they encounter, and the drive that keeps them searching for answers.

The podcast is produced by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, a not-for-profit, charitable organization supported by a unique public-private model, including the Governments of Ontario and Canada. Perimeter Institute acknowledges that it is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral peoples. Perimeter’s educational outreach initiatives, including Conversations at the Perimeter, are made possible in part by the support of donors like you. Be part of the equation: perimeterinstitute.ca/donate