Quantum Science is Specialty for CT Medal of Science Recipient

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Professor Robert Schoelkopf, Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics and Director of the Yale Quantum Institute, has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Connecticut Medal of Science for his seminal contributions to the entire field of quantum science and to the new field of circuit quantum electrodynamics. Schoelkopf is a leading experimental physicist, whose research has helped establish the field of quantum computation with solid-state devices.  The Connecticut Medal of Science is the state’s highest honor for scientific achievement in fields crucial to Connecticut’s economic competiveness and social well-being.

Connecticut’s most talented young scientists and engineers were also honored by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering at its 42nd Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner, held this spring.  Winners of this year’s Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair, Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Connecticut Invention Convention were recognized during program ceremonies.

Together with his faculty collaborators at Yale, Michel Devoret and Steven Girvin, Schoelkopf has pioneered the approach of integrating superconducting qubits with microwave cavities, known as Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics. Some of Schoelkopf’s other inventions include the Radio Frequency Single-Electron Transistor and the Shot Noise Thermometer.

He is regularly called on to advise industry and federal agencies on the development and commercialization of quantum technologies, and he is a co-founder of Quantum Circuits, Inc., a Connecticut-based company working to deliver the first quantum computers.

Modeled after the National Medal of Science, the award is bestowed by the State of Connecticut, with the assistance of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, in alternate years with the Connecticut Medal of Technology.

Student work was also honored by CASE.  The H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence, established by CASE and presented in partnership with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, was awarded to the top winners of the Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair. The medal was created to recognize and honor H. Joseph Gerber’s (1924-1996) technical leadership in inventing, developing and commercializing manufacturing automation systems for a wide variety of industries, making those industries more efficient and cost-effective in a worldwide competitive environment.

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well-being.

Student Awards:

The 2017 H. Joseph Gerber Medal of Excellence:

  • Shobhita Sundaram, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – 1st Place, Life Sciences-Senior Division

Project: Detection of Premalignant Pancreatic Cancer via Computational Analysis of Serum Proteomic Profiles

  • Ethan Novek, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – 1st Place, Physical Sciences-Senior Division

Project: Novel Low-Temperature Carbon Capture Using Aqueous Ammonia and Organic Solvents

  • Maya Geradi, Wilbur Cross High School, New Haven, CT

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair – Urban School Challenge High School Winner

Project: A Study of Circadian Genetics and Abiotic Stress Towards Sustainable Agriculture

2017 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair –

Middle School Winner, Urban School Challenge

  • Madison Lee, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy, Hartford, CT Project: Natural Plastic: Milk Plastic Biodegradation Versus Commercial Plastic Degradation

2017 Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

  • 1st Place: Shobhita Sundaram, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

Project: Detection of Premalignant Pancreatic Cancer via Computational Analysis of Serum Proteomic Profiles

  • 2nd Place: William Yin, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT

Project: Portable, Low-Cost Tattoo-Based Biosensor for the Non-Invasive Self-Diagnosis and Quantification of Atherosclerosis

  • 3rd Place: Haya Jarad, Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT Project: Identification of Novel Small Project: Identifying Quasi Periodic Patterns in fMRI Versus CBF Data
  • 4th Place: Gabrielle Stonoha, Manchester High School, Manchester, CT

Project: Growth and Sustainability of Metarhizium on Low-nutrient Substrates

  • 5th Place: Lauren Low, Engineering & Science University Magnet School, West Haven, CT Project: A Novel Rapid Diagnostic Test for Zika Virus NS1 Protein Using Nanoribbon Microfluidics