Hands-on Qureca quantum training at MTSU broadens appeal for students, teachers

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University associate physics professor Hanna Terletska continues to make quantum science — which continues to attract massive interest and investment globally — expand in the Middle Tennessee region.

A faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Terletska recently brought Qureca — a global provider of quantum resources — to campus for three days of educational training for university students and faculty, high school students and private and public school teachers.

Jorge Christen, outreach manager with Qureca, a global provider of quantum resources, leads a workshop held July 22-24 in Wiser-Patten Science Hall on the Middle Tennessee State University campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. MTSU students and faculty and area high school students and teachers attended the hands-on event. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

The company’s name, stylized as QURECA, stands for Quantum Resources and Careers, according to its website.

Jorge Christen, outreach manager with Qureca taught the workshop, “Qureka! Box: Quantum Computing Made Simple and Fun,” July 22-24 in Wiser-Patten Science Hall. Maninder Kaur, Qureca program manager, joined him for the training and said the workshop title combined the words “quantum” and “eureka.”

Qureca workshops make quantum computing simple and fun, Christen said, adding it “introduces high school and undergraduate students, as well as professionals and enthusiasts, to the fascinating world of quantum computing.”

Dr. Hanna Terletska

“The purpose was to bring quantum education to Middle Tennessee high school teachers and students and to make it accessible to everyone,” Terletska said of the event. “They were teaching us how to teach quantum. It was very hands-on.”

One of the high school attendees, Angel Hu, of Murfreesboro, a recent Central Magnet School graduate, will attend Yale University this fall. Participating teachers came from Stewarts Creek High School in Smyrna and Nolensville High School in Williamson County, Terletska said.

Megan Zhoo, 17, of Murfreesboro, a rising senior at Central Magnet School, performs a test with liquid during the recent three-day quantum computing workshop in a Wiser-Patten Science Hall classroom on the Middle Tennessee State University campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. It was quantum computing made simple and fun, organizers said. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

Kristin Quinby of Murfreesboro, a St. Rose of Lima Catholic School middle school math teacher, said the workshop delivered “lots of new and interesting information.” She added she would use some of the concepts “because a lot of the math and science content is something they could do before Christmas or spring break.”

An $800,000 National Science Foundation grant Terletska secured helped pay for the workshop.

Earlier this year, Terletska organized a workshop in Nashville with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, including Fisk and Tennessee State and featuring a quantum science representative from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, stimulating the growth of this field in higher education in the Midstate.

More recently, WPLN-FM, Nashville’s National Public Radio station, featured Terletska, rising MTSU junior Ariel Nicastro, rising Fisk junior Adetoro Akinola and Stephen Jesse with ORNL in a nearly one-hour “This is Nashville” program that aired Tuesday, Aug. 6.

MTSU’s Quantum Science Initiative promotes research, education, computing and helping supply qualified scholars to the workforce. To learn more, call 615-898-2130 or visit https://quantum.mtsu.edu.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)