Public Talk: “What is Quantum?”

The United Nations have designated 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. “International Years” are designed to raise global awareness and encourage action on themes important to UN’s objectives. 2025 was chosen to highlight quantum science and technology because of foundational advancement in developing the theory 100 years ago. Even so, discoveries and technological advancements are still being made today in areas the science impacts such as AI, quantum computers and the proposed Intel chip factory outside of Columbus.

In celebration of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the University of Findlay’s College of Sciences is offering a free public talk by Dr. Lok C. Lew Yan Voon on “what is quantum?” on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 6:30PM in Davis 102. The talk will go over the meaning of “quantum”, some of the strange aspects of the theory, a few of the current and future technologies using quantum, the job outlook in the quantum world, and the connection to the Intel plant being built in New Albany, OH.

Dr. Lok C. Lew Yan Voon is the Dean of the College of Sciences and teaches physics at UF. Dr. Lok’s research is mainly in the area of nanomaterials, materials whose physical properties are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. He received his PhD in the theory of semiconductor materials from Worcester Polytechnic Institute on a US Naval Research Lab funded project and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics in Germany. He received the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award for developing new quantum models of semiconductor nanomaterials and, in 2007 while at Wright State University, his student and him predicted the fascinating properties of a nanomaterial, silicene, that had yet to be discovered. Based on their work, this novel quantum material was finally synthesized in 2012. Today, he has published over 110 peer-reviewed publications and two books.