Communications of the ACM
Jumpstarting the Future Quantum Workforce
Students paid no costs for the QCamp workshops and materials.
Credit: QCamp
The Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, dedicates special efforts to quantum education and outreach in the fast-growing, developing field of quantum information science, where the number of unfulfilled job vacancies increases every year. QSA's outreach is especially pioneering at the high-school level, which traditionally has not been regarded as an entry point to the field.
In 2022, QSA organized the Quantum Computing, Mathematics, and Physics (QCaMP) summer camp in collaboration with the Computer Science Alliance and the IEEE. QCaMP ran two week-long cohorts for high school teachers and students in minority-serving, economically disadvantaged communities in New Mexico and California. A total of 20 teachers participated during QCaMP's first-week cohort and 32 students for the second, with most attendees being introduced to QIS for the first time.
In addition to hands-on experimental demonstrations, the teachers' week also included discussion sessions and resources for introducing QIS concepts to students, which could easily be incorporated into existing lesson plans. Career talks and question-and-answer sessions complemented the student program.
From Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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