Partnering with Creative Scholars to Combine Quantum and the Arts

Researchers associated with the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS) are partnering with creative scholars in the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) and others on projects that explore novel ways to engage people in thinking about the counterintuitive aspects of quantum physics.

The QuICS researchers—Carl Miller, Nicole Yunger Halpern, Michael Gullans, Mohamed Hafezi, Lucy Liuxuan Zhang and Andrew Childs—are involved in a series of interdisciplinary projects funded by the Division of Research and ARHU’s Arts for All initiative.

“We are putting people in the room together who normally don’t have an opportunity to explore how their disciplines can be linked,” said Craig Kier, director of Arts for All. Kier worked with John Sawyer, director of the Mid Atlantic Quantum Institute, to evaluate and select a total of seven projects for funding.

Projects that involve QuICS faculty and postdoctoral scholars are:

Quantum Choreobotics, a new form of dance/theater art performance that explores quantum technological concepts and their implications for society through interactive dance with miniature robots—democratizing the experience by allowing the audience to influence the actions of robots traversing dancers’ bodies. QuICS Fellow Carl Miller is part of this project.

The Quantum-Steampunk Engine will be a 3D-printed, interactive sculpture that makes quantum science approachable and exciting. Quantum science will be rendered visually, explained in online educational materials, and explored in creative writing to enable people to grasp the implications of quantum physics on security, communications, policy and more. QuICS Fellow Nicole Yunger Halpern is part of this project.

Common Accord will combine concepts from quantum computing with immersive media design and musical composition, creating a joyful experience drawing inspiration from the latest advances in qubit entanglement and quantum algorithms. QuICS Fellows Michael Gullans and Mohammad Hafezi are part of this project.

Science and Music of the Bloch Sphere is a science-music performance that incorporates music as an added dimension to a scientific presentation. Musicians interpret the presentation, helping the audience relate to the scientific concepts being discussed, culminating in a novel, cohesive and immersive experience. QuICS postdoctoral scholar Lucy Liuxuan Zhang and QuICS Fellow Andrew Childs are part of this project.

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