Raymond Laflamme
Encyclopedia
Raymond Laflamme is a physicist
and the co-founder and current director of the Institute for Quantum Computing
. He is also an associate faculty member at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
. He was a doctoral student of Stephen Hawking
at the University of Cambridge
. He is responsible for convincing Stephen Hawking that time does not reverse in a contracting universe. A story about this is mentioned in Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time
in the chapter The Arrow of Time.
Apart from his work in quantum gravity and cosmology, Raymond Laflamme has been a pioneering scientist in Quantum Information Theory. He and Manny Knill laid down the mathematical framework for quantum error-correcting codes. With colleagues Miquel, Paz and Zurek, he constructed the most compact quantum error correcting code.
Prior to his arrival in Waterloo
, Laflamme headed the NMR
group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
and MIT. His work during this time was ranked amongst the Top Ten Breakthroughs of the Year from the Journal of Science in 1998.
Laflamme was a featured scientist in the award-winning documentary, "The Quantum Tamers" which was presented by Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
and saw its Canadian premiere in October 2009 at the Quantum to Cosmos festival in Waterloo
, Ontario. Laflamme was also a participant in The Agenda With Steve Paikin discussion panel, "Wired 24/7" with Neil Gershenfeld
, Jaron Lanier
, Neal Stephenson
, and Tara Hunt
at the Quantum to Cosmos festival.
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and the co-founder and current director of the Institute for Quantum Computing
Institute for Quantum Computing
The Institute for Quantum Computing, or IQC, located in Waterloo, Canada, is an affiliate research institute of the University of Waterloo with a multidisciplinary approach to the field of quantum information processing.-IQC's Mission:...
. He is also an associate faculty member at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, resident-based research institute devoted to foundational issues in theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Perimeter Institute was founded in 1999 by Mike Lazaridis...
. He was a doctoral student of Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He is responsible for convincing Stephen Hawking that time does not reverse in a contracting universe. A story about this is mentioned in Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time
A Brief History of Time
A Brief History of Time is a popular science book written by renown physicist Stephen Hawking and first published by the Bantam Dell Publishing Group in 1988. It became a best-seller and has sold more than 10 million copies...
in the chapter The Arrow of Time.
Apart from his work in quantum gravity and cosmology, Raymond Laflamme has been a pioneering scientist in Quantum Information Theory. He and Manny Knill laid down the mathematical framework for quantum error-correcting codes. With colleagues Miquel, Paz and Zurek, he constructed the most compact quantum error correcting code.
Prior to his arrival in Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
, Laflamme headed the NMR
NMR
NMR may refer to:Applications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance:* Nuclear magnetic resonance* NMR spectroscopy* Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance* Protein nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy* Proton NMR* Carbon-13 NMR...
group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
and MIT. His work during this time was ranked amongst the Top Ten Breakthroughs of the Year from the Journal of Science in 1998.
Laflamme was a featured scientist in the award-winning documentary, "The Quantum Tamers" which was presented by Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, resident-based research institute devoted to foundational issues in theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Perimeter Institute was founded in 1999 by Mike Lazaridis...
and saw its Canadian premiere in October 2009 at the Quantum to Cosmos festival in Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
, Ontario. Laflamme was also a participant in The Agenda With Steve Paikin discussion panel, "Wired 24/7" with Neil Gershenfeld
Neil Gershenfeld
Neil Gershenfeld is a professor at MIT and the head of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, a sister lab spun out of the popular MIT Media Lab. His research interests are mainly in interdisciplinary studies involving physics and computer science, in such fields as quantum computing, nanotechnology,...
, Jaron Lanier
Jaron Lanier
Jaron Zepel Lanier is an American computer scientist, best known for popularizing the term virtual reality .A pioneer in the field of VR, Lanier and Thomas G. Zimmerman left Atari in 1985 to found VPL Research, Inc., the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves...
, Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
, and Tara Hunt
Tara Hunt
Tara Hunt is an author, speaker and startup founder, known for her work in marketing and community-building, as well as for her book, The Whuffie Factor.-Biography:...
at the Quantum to Cosmos festival.