The National Science Foundation has awarded Kenyon College a $199,221 grant for research in quantum computing, according to a news release.
"This is the second NSF grant I've gotten to support our research on what are called Rydberg atoms, which are highly excited atoms," Kenyon associate physics professor Aaron Reinhard told the Mount Vernon News. "You have electrons that all go around the nucleus of an atom. We use lasers to promote one of the electrons to a very, very large orbit, to a high-energy state. These are called Rydberg states."
When the atoms are in this state, they can interact with each other, Reinhard said.
"They polarize each other," he said. "It's kind of like a rubber balloon on your head and you put it next to the wall and the wall will attract it because it's like polarizing, separating the charge."
The research could lead to applications in quantum computing.
"The basic idea is that there are certain tasks such as factoring numbers or securely transmitting data that could done in a fundamentally different way in they are done with quantum mechanical objects than if they are done with everyday objects," he said. "In my lab, we're not really trying to build a quantum computer, we're studying the fundamental science, the properties of these interacting, highly excited atoms that would enable someone to use these atoms on a computer."
Learning how to harness the power of the atoms could greatly improve computer capabilities, Reinhard said,
"Whether it's the government, whether it's a private entity, whoever could do this would have the ability to generate unbreakable codes," he said. "It could also lead to atomic clocks – super precise time-keeping, which in important in applications like GPS."
Kenyon was one of four Central Ohio institutions to receive the National Science grants.
Other recipients were Ohio State University, Ohio Wesleyan University and the Battelle Memorial Institute.
We unleash more American innovation when everyone is able to participate and we nurture all Ohio talent,” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said in a release. “These awards will help Ohio’s great institutions of higher education advance our knowledge and continue Ohio’s leadership in innovation.”
