FROM QUANTUM COSMOS to QUANTUM COMPUTERS: The SACRED and the PROFANE

Event Date:
2026-04-23T18:00:00
2026-04-23T19:30:00
Event Location:
Vancouver Public Library - Central Branch (Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level)
Speaker:
Philip Stamp, University of British Columbia
Related Upcoming Events:
Public Events
Intended Audience:
Everyone
Local Contact:

Kirsty Dickson: communications@phas.ubc.ca

All are welcome to join us at this event!

*Note: If registration is full, we are still usually able to accommodate walk-ins and wait-listed guests; please come by in case there are free seats!

Event Information:

Curious about how the universe actually works? Join the experts from UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy to find out fun facts about everything from the Milky Way to radio waves in this new, accessible science series: How the Universe Works! All are welcome!

Abstract:

Most of us hold certain values to be sacred. One of these – which underlies science – is Truth. There are other non-scientific sacred values: beauty, love, Nature, compassion, even comedy. They help to give meaning and value to our lives; we feel instinctively that they are not to be profaned. 

In this talk I’ll describe in simple terms, using slides, video, and live demonstrations, two scientific results of extraordinary beauty, viz., 
   (i) New ideas about our entire universe, which indicate it may be oscillating chaotically while also expanding and contracting, rather like a fibrillating heart. Within it, galaxies are born and die, and complex systems like life result from galactic collisions. 
   (ii) quantum networks of “qubits” (exemplified by everything from bird navigation systems to “quantum computers”). Quantum information ripples through these networks, mediated by quantum entanglement and quantum tunneling. Such networks will revolutionize 21st century technology, for good or ill. 

To explain such things we need both quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of curved spacetime. These theories describe deep features of Nature that are both magical and real. I will try to give some intuition for this, and how it feels to engage with it. 
 

Bio:

Philip Stamp was mostly raised in New Zealand. He was educated in the UK, beginning his academic career in philosophy and literature, but then switching to theoretical physics. Over the years he has worked as a physicist in France, Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, and the USA, and as a musician in France. In 2002 he returned to Canada to set up the Pacific Institute of Theoretical Physics (PITP), based at UBC. He is presently Prof of Theoretical Physics at UBC, and director of PITP. His research focuses on many different aspects of quantum mechanics, including macroscopic quantum phenomena, and also quantum gravity and quantum cosmology.

His favourite writers are Colette, H.E. Bates, and Jorge Amado; his favourite film is “October Sky”; his favourite art form is flamenco; and his favourite spectator sport is rugby. He’s often seen cycling around Vancouver or kayaking in the Gulf islands – his favourite part of Vancouver is Commercial Drive. His two children, now adults, still call him “NeanderPhil”. But his happiest news all year: his son is getting married!
 

Learn More:

  • PBS Space Time explores the outer reaches of space, the craziness of astrophysics, the possibilities of sci-fi, and anything else you can think of beyond Planet Earth. Host Matt O'Dowd breaks down both the basic and incredibly complex sides of space and time.

 

Add to Calendar 2026-04-23T18:00:00 2026-04-23T19:30:00 FROM QUANTUM COSMOS to QUANTUM COMPUTERS: The SACRED and the PROFANE Event Information: Curious about how the universe actually works? Join the experts from UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy to find out fun facts about everything from the Milky Way to radio waves in this new, accessible science series: How the Universe Works! All are welcome! Abstract: Most of us hold certain values to be sacred. One of these – which underlies science – is Truth. There are other non-scientific sacred values: beauty, love, Nature, compassion, even comedy. They help to give meaning and value to our lives; we feel instinctively that they are not to be profaned.  In this talk I’ll describe in simple terms, using slides, video, and live demonstrations, two scientific results of extraordinary beauty, viz.,    (i) New ideas about our entire universe, which indicate it may be oscillating chaotically while also expanding and contracting, rather like a fibrillating heart. Within it, galaxies are born and die, and complex systems like life result from galactic collisions.    (ii) quantum networks of “qubits” (exemplified by everything from bird navigation systems to “quantum computers”). Quantum information ripples through these networks, mediated by quantum entanglement and quantum tunneling. Such networks will revolutionize 21st century technology, for good or ill.  To explain such things we need both quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of curved spacetime. These theories describe deep features of Nature that are both magical and real. I will try to give some intuition for this, and how it feels to engage with it.   Bio: Philip Stamp was mostly raised in New Zealand. He was educated in the UK, beginning his academic career in philosophy and literature, but then switching to theoretical physics. Over the years he has worked as a physicist in France, Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, and the USA, and as a musician in France. In 2002 he returned to Canada to set up the Pacific Institute of Theoretical Physics (PITP), based at UBC. He is presently Prof of Theoretical Physics at UBC, and director of PITP. His research focuses on many different aspects of quantum mechanics, including macroscopic quantum phenomena, and also quantum gravity and quantum cosmology. His favourite writers are Colette, H.E. Bates, and Jorge Amado; his favourite film is “October Sky”; his favourite art form is flamenco; and his favourite spectator sport is rugby. He’s often seen cycling around Vancouver or kayaking in the Gulf islands – his favourite part of Vancouver is Commercial Drive. His two children, now adults, still call him “NeanderPhil”. But his happiest news all year: his son is getting married!  Learn More: PBS Space Time explores the outer reaches of space, the craziness of astrophysics, the possibilities of sci-fi, and anything else you can think of beyond Planet Earth. Host Matt O'Dowd breaks down both the basic and incredibly complex sides of space and time.   Event Location: Vancouver Public Library - Central Branch (Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level)