February 28, 2023 | Boston & New York

Swissnex, working with the Science Office of the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC, is representing Switzerland at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), held from March 2-5 in Washington. Brendan Karch, Head of Academic Engagement at Swissnex in Boston and New York, will present a lightning talk on speculative models for large-scale international collaboration in quantum science Sunday, March 5.

The AAAS Annual Meeting is taking place for the first time in person since the pandemic under the theme “Science for Humanity.” Karch’s talk will take data from a survey of Swiss quantum actors to probe whether a large-scale international collaboration infrastructure – a “CERN for quantum” – could accelerate the pace of discovery.

Swissnex has launched a new quantum initiative that featured the inaugural Swiss-US Quantum Days in October 2022 in Chicago. “We’re committed to exploring the boundaries of what’s possible in order to drive forward collaborations in quantum,” says Karch. “This talk is meant to pose fundamental questions around the nature of scientific research networks and how we best invest finite resources on a global scale to usher in a new quantum revolution.”

The Science Office in Washington is also organizing a panel discussion at the Swiss Embassy on space exploration on March 2. The panel will feature Swiss Nobel Prize-winning astronomer Didier Queloz, who will preview his AAAS talk on exoplanets and the search for life.