The Quantum Garden
In 2019 I ran an outreach project called ‘The Quantum Garden’ with the help of the physics department’s outreach team and the university’s public engagement team. The project aimed to raise awareness in the local community about research that the Photonics and Quantum Sciences group at the University of Surrey carries out. I based the design on a paper which explored the wavefunction of phosphorous donors in silicon. The garden also explored various potential applications of quantum computers and provided information about each application on cards for visitors to read as they walked through the garden.
We entered the garden into the annual ‘Guildford in Bloom’ competition and our garden won a gold medal as well as ‘best in class’ for the student showcase garden category.
Most importantly, it facilitated many conversations with local residents about the quantum technology research that we’re doing at the university as well as enriching the local environment.
