Schools What are the best universities for Quantum Physics in Canada

[Sigma Omega]

I would love to know about not only the rankings of the universities (Which I see a lot) but more what makes each one special. Which means I appreciate personal experience related to the courses as well as for example if there is any research done (or a way to get some hands-on experience in the actual research / experiments).

P.S.: My goal is to head into quantum computing afterwards.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bentleyghioda]

Which part of Canada? I only really know about western Canada, and if you're interested in going o school in BC then the University of British Columbia or Simon Fraser University may be good choices because of the nearby D-Wave Systems. This is a company working on building a quantum computer, and I know that some physics from both schools often get opportunities to internships there through co-op.

 

[Sigma Omega]

Which part of Canada? I only really know about western Canada, and if you're interested in going o school in BC then the University of British Columbia or Simon Fraser University may be good choices because of the nearby D-Wave Systems. This is a company working on building a quantum computer, and I know that some physics from both schools often get opportunities to internships there through co-op.

I don't mind all of Canada, so thanks that's a good point. I have heard of D-Wave but I never knew where their labs were. And looking around I saw that the university of Waterloo is also close to a research lab (I think it was Perimeter Institute or something like that), so does anyone have a say on Waterloo?

Thank you bentleyghioda!

 

[StatGuy2000]

@Sigma Omega, if your interest is in quantum computing, then you can't go wrong in pursuing your studies at the University of Waterloo. Waterloo has an entire research group, made up of faculty members in Applied Mathematics, Combinatorics & Optimization (a department within the Faculty of Mathematics focused on research in combinatorial mathematics), Computer Science and Physics (among others) focused on quantum computing.

https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/

The proximity of the University of Waterloo with the Perimeter Institute is also a plus as well.

 

[vancouver_water]

Waterloo has by far the most diverse research in quantum computing in Canada. You're going into undergrad, right? Then Waterloo will be good since you will have a lot of opportunities to explore different areas. There are also a few researchers at Calgary and UBC. However, the course offerings at UBC are not great in my opinion. No quantum optics or atomic physics courses. We have a lot of down right terrible lectures and a handful of very good ones, most are somewhere in between, but I guess this will be more or less the same anywhere you go.

In terms of research, at UBC there are a few people working on silicon/photonic implementations, both in the physics department and EE department. Also close by is SFU with another group working in a similar field. We also have a big condensed matter department with some people working in topological insulators which could be potentially useful in quantum computing, but they are more on the fundamental physics side rather than applications side.

 

[Sigma Omega]

@Sigma Omega, if your interest is in quantum computing, then you can't go wrong in pursuing your studies at the University of Waterloo. Waterloo has an entire research group, made up of faculty members in Applied Mathematics, Combinatorics & Optimization (a department within the Faculty of Mathematics focused on research in combinatorial mathematics), Computer Science and Physics (among others) focused on quantum computing.

https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/

The proximity of the University of Waterloo with the Perimeter Institute is also a plus as well.

Ok thanks I'll check their website!

 

[Sigma Omega]

Waterloo has by far the most diverse research in quantum computing in Canada. You're going into undergrad, right? Then Waterloo will be good since you will have a lot of opportunities to explore different areas. There are also a few researchers at Calgary and UBC. However, the course offerings at UBC are not great in my opinion. No quantum optics or atomic physics courses. We have a lot of down right terrible lectures and a handful of very good ones, most are somewhere in between, but I guess this will be more or less the same anywhere you go.

In terms of research, at UBC there are a few people working on silicon/photonic implementations, both in the physics department and EE department. Also close by is SFU with another group working in a similar field. We also have a big condensed matter department with some people working in topological insulators which could be potentially useful in quantum computing, but they are more on the fundamental physics side rather than applications side.

Okay thank you!