Boosting Gender Diversity in Quantum

Join Swissnex for this World Quantum Day event as we explore how to improve gender diversity in quantum technology and related STEM fields.

Quantum science and technology, like many STEM fields, must make significant strides to improve the gender diversity of its students, researchers, and industry workforce. Doing so can ensure that this emerging field attracts the full range of talent, while also bringing new perspectives to the field and enhancing broader economic and social equality. Join this discussion led by several women working in quantum and related STEM fields to learn more about their professional experiences, and the institutional programs and exciting youth initiatives that are changing the face of quantum.

Program

  • 10:00am – Opening remarks
  • 10:10am – Navigating Swiss and US quantum as a woman: Prof. Yiwen Chu (ETH Zurich)
  • 10:20am – Fixing the leaky pipeline in STEM: Prof. Elena Makarova (University of Basel)
  • 10:30am – K-12 quantum education innovation: Kiera Peltz (The Coding School)
  • 10:40am – Moderated discussion with Q&A
  • 11:10am – Breakout rooms networking with the panelists
  • 11:30am – End of event
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Event start time

  • Boston

    10:00AM

  • Brazil

    11:00AM

  • China

    10:00PM

  • Houston

    8:00AM

  • India

    7:30PM

  • New York

    10:00AM

  • San Francisco

    7:00AM

  • Switzerland

    4:00PM

  • USA

    9:00AM

Speakers

  •

    Bio

    Prof. Yiwen Chu

    Assistant Professor, Hybrid Quantum Systems, ETH Zurich

    After completing her undergraduate studies at MIT, Chu pursued her Ph.D. in quantum optics with nitrogen vacancy center at Harvard in the group of Prof. Mikhail Lukin. Wanting to try out a different quantum system, she worked on circuit QED as a postdoc in the group of Prof. Rob Schoelkopf at Yale. Through collaborations with the group of Prof. Peter Rakich (also at Yale), Chu also added quantum acoustics and optomechanics to her repertoire.
    Since 2018 Prof. Chu has been a tenure track Assistant Professor of Hybrid Quantum Systems at the ETH Zurich. Her research focuses on exploring new materials, designs and geometries for developing superconducting qubits and cavities. Her experiments have demonstrated the entanglement of individual electron spins with photons in a solid state system based on nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond. She has also gained international recognition for developing a new system of coupling superconducting qubits to mechanical resonators.

  • Bio

    Prof. Elena Makarova

    Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Basel

    Prof. Makarova received her Ph.D. at the University of Bern, Switzerland. She was a postdoctoral fellow of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. Currently, she serves as Professor of Educational Sciences and Director of the Institute for Educational Sciences at the University of Basel. She is also a fellow representative of the Board of the International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR). Makarova`s research interests include the acculturation and school adjustment of minority youth, gender diversity and equality in STEM, and value transmission in the family and school context. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and some special issues in leading educational journals. Her research is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Federal Office for Gender Equality.

  •

    Bio

    Kiera Peltz

    Founder, The Coding School

    Kiera Peltz is Executive Director of Qubit by Qubit (QxQ), a nonprofit initiative of The Coding School focused on training the future diverse quantum workforce. To date, QxQ has trained over 20,000 K-16 students and educators, as well as current members of the workforce, from 125 countries. With a focus on diversity and inclusion, over 55% of students are from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in STEM. Kiera is also the Founder and CEO of The Coding School, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to training the next generation in emerging technologies. Kiera graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and holds masters degrees from the University of Cambridge and Tsinghua University. She is a Gates-Cambridge Scholar, Schwarzman Scholar, and on Forbes' 30 Under 30 for Social Impact.

Moderator

  •

    Bio

    Sebâ Topuz

    Academic Engagement Associate, Swissnex in Boston and New York

    As an Academic Engagement Associate, Sebâ supports the Swissnex team in connecting the Swiss higher education ecosystem to academic partners on the East Coast. Prior to joining Swissnex, Sebâ worked as a project assistant at the University of Bern and is an M.A. Candidate in Public Management and Policy at the KPM Center for Public Management. Before that, she majored in Political Science at the University of Zurich and focused her research and work on the strategic management of higher education and public organizations.

World
Quantum
Day

This event is a part of World Quantum Day on April 14.
The World Quantum Day is a bottom-up initiative aiming at promoting the public understanding of Quantum Science and Technology around the World.