Sparks! committee meeting - September

Tuesday 26 Sept 2023, 16:00 → 17:00 Europe/Zurich

23-09-28- Sparks Committee.pdf

23-09-28- Sparks Committee.pptx

Sparks! Committee Meeting 26 September 2023

Present: Enrica Porcari, Ana Godinho, Alberto Di Meglio, James Gillies, Markus Nordberg, Michael Doser, Claudia Marcelloni, Lila Mabiala

EP : Quantum Technology Initiative, second phase of QTI phase 1 has been approved. Project will last 5 years, expected cost 14.7M 

Open Quantum Institute (societal arm) – council next week for final approval. Completely self-funded and a donor has been found. Announcement should be made during GESDA on 13 October

Continuation of QTI and OQU starting in March (CERN becomes the host of OQU) – Sparks! timing is quite good as the news-hook would be interesting as OQI proves the societal impact of Quantum technologies (but mainly computing to start with)

Launch 

AdM- Could contact Reike directly and find out if she’s available. She is a relatively good speaker but gives the typical IMB spiel, less in favour of Pieter. WEF Quantum Network Event 14-16 November, they will be on site at CERN. AdM has invited them to attend Sparks! but potentially one of them would be invited to also give a talk? Can contact the organiser and ask who would be interested – and if it is not possible due to organisational matters, then Reile could be called on to be motivated.

Announcement

CM announces that she will be leaving the Organisation at the end of the year 2023.

AG: This will clearly impact Sparks! and the committee should be conscious of this. Replacing Claudia will be possible but not by December, maybe March earliest

CM: I can leave things in order, the Public Event is clearly manageable, previously done, the team knows how to handle it, we can hire external help to handle speaker training, narrative, etc but the Forum is a newer format, and more intense to organise. The external facilitator will also be available still, but we have never done the external co-curators system and that is difficult to project on

EP: This is a considerable risk-factor We are all very busy and could not dedicate enough time without a dedicated person/resources taking care of this part. We need to find a niche that is relevant to CERN and for that we need time and focus to be at a level that makes us all proud to the level of WEF, QTI, etc. I am expressing concern at this

AG: If we consider the kick-off of the OQU, could there be a forum component to that? And we build something on the back of this

AdM: I share the concern, we have seen how much work and effort went into previous editions. And even if we have the recipes, we still need a chef to carry them out. Using the OQU as an opportunity would be wise but it would not be the same event and we need to understand how to adapt it to a different set of objectives

EP: There’s a lot of substance needed and without dedicated knowledge and expertise of how things are done at CERN, we would lose the quality aspect

AdM: the other option is to drop the Forum, and keep the public event – as the next Quantum Meeting for HEP will take place in November 2024, maybe the Forum could be moved to then

JG: Agree that the Forum had arrived to maturity, this edition would have been the best one. It would be a shame to drop the forum. If the intellectual work is done before CM leaves, then it should be able to be held nevertheless. The use of co-conveners should ensure that the format could survive

AdM: What are we launching in November?

CM: If we drop the Forum, then we’ll have two public events and then we need to explain why we’re doing it twice: once to introduce the subject and once to go deep. It’s possible to pull a comms narrative together to make it woke

AdM: as I understand, the “launch” is either way a kind of “teaser” for the main event in March.

Public Event

AdM: There’s overlap between 1 and 2 

MD: 1 is the general talk by Nobel Prize winners and 2 links more directly to CERN and yes there’s overlap but (this is where the curation comes in) speakers can be encouraged to talk about certain areas at certain times so that the overlap isn’t felt

ADm: I can recommend someone for Quantum internet: Angela Sara Cacciapuoti

EP: in this narrative, CERN is associated with history, but we’re missing an element of what role CERN will continue having and contributing to Quantum 

CM: Great point, shall we add a talk in the second part? 

AG: Agree with the point especially as we’ll be in the 70^th year celebrations and it’s important to keep the future in mind. Also, considering the event will be form 5pm to 9pm and some people might only attend one or the other half, would it be possible to integrate 2 talks on CERN future – one in each half, so that the message is definitely taken home by everyone?

AdM: getting people from companies is a double edged-sword. They are up to date but they are also trying to sell something…
For medical applications then Lara is very good, but it could also be more general applications, in which case OQU will already have a few use-cases that are broader in terms of showing the possibilities of quantum

MN: We have an expert among us who could directly address the future of Quantum at CERN clearly. Especially linked to sensors. We’re a physics laboratory, and things take time, and here we have a great example. We use what we’re making and that’s our specialty. We’re also paving the way very concretely, even though we can’t show the results yet

MD: I agree, we’re users and we’re not active in quantum computing, etc. so yes sensors are important. But we’re very much on the sidelines here…Maybe better to find people who know what they are talking about. Maybe a talk about “this is what fundamental physics questions we might be able to answer in the future”

EP: not only show that we’re users, but that we could be at the forefront of discoveries. 

MD: We need a philosopher. Quantum mechanics has so many implications in philosophy, even closer to here at UNIGE Baptiste Le Bihan they study philosophy, physics and quantum mechanics

Moving forward

EP: Who, what, when will the decision have to be made? For how to proceed?
CM: We would require Ana, Enrica and Alberto to be present for a meeting soon, along with anyone else who is available in 2 weeks.