Willamette University Physics professors David Altman and Daniel Borrero recently received a pair of grants from the Jonathan F. Reichert Foundation totalling $10,942 to support the purchase of equipment for a new lab course on emerging quantum technologies.
The Physics department will use the grants to purchase key equipment for the study of foundational concepts in the field of quantum mechanics. Research into quantum physics powers some of the most important technologies in the 21st century from semiconductors to MRI machines.
While this technology can be found in the nation’s largest research universities, the purchase puts Willamette University at the forefront of providing access to quantum technology in the context of a liberal arts university.
The grants will enable students to go beyond just reading about quantum physics to gaining hands-on research and learning experience in this important field. With the purchase of a Thorlabs Quantum Optics kit, students will be able to study the behavior of individual light particles, learning principles that inform quantum cryptography and communication. The purchase of the TeachSpin Quantum Control Apparatus will allow students to study how qubits, the basic unit of quantum information, can be implemented. These will be central to the design of faster and more powerful computers.
The course, which will be offered in the Spring of 2026 as PHYS 399: Topics in Physics – Quantum Information, will give Willamette students the opportunity to get their hands on emerging technologies that are currently being used to revolutionize the fields of computing, medicine, and more.
