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Vancouver Sun
24-06-2025
- Science
- Vancouver Sun
Raymond Laflamme, Canadian pioneer in quantum computing, has died
Raymond Laflamme, a Canadian pioneer in the field of quantum information processing who once worked with Stephen Hawking, has died after a lengthy bout with cancer. The University of Waterloo announced his death in a press release this week. He died June 19 on what would have been his 65th birthday. Born in Québec City, the third of five siblings, Laflamme studied physics as an undergraduate at the Université Laval before moving to England to continue his education there. At Cambridge University, he earned his PhD under the supervision of Stephen Hawking, at one point convincing the eminent scientist (over the course of six months' spirited discussion) that Hawking was wrong in his belief that time would run backwards during the contraction of the universe. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Hawking gave credit to Laflamme for this contribution in his best-selling book A Brief History of Time. When Laflamme left Cambridge a few years later, Hawking personalized his copy of the book with a note reading: 'To Raymond, who showed me that the arrow of time is not a boomerang. Thank you for all your help. Stephen.' Years later, Hawking visited Laflamme at his workplace in Waterloo, Ont., during which his former student gave him a tour of labs, introduced him to faculty, students and staff — and presented him with a boomerang, engraved with the words: 'Come back soon!' After Cambridge, Laflamme worked for a number of years at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where his interests shifted from cosmology to quantum computing. In 2001, he returned to Canada and joined the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo and the university's newly created Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. There, he became founding director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, a position he held for 15 years. 'Through his leadership, IQC became a world-class research hub, positioning Canada at the forefront of the quantum revolution,' the university said in its release. 'In his scientific research, Laflamme pioneered theoretical and experimental approaches to quantum information processing and quantum error correction.' It added: 'Laflamme and colleagues developed an innovative approach to quantum information processing using linear optics, the results of which became one of the most referenced works in quantum computing.' On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the IQC, Hawking was among the luminaries to pay tribute to Laflamme's achievements. 'The incredible growth and success of IQC are a testament to professor Raymond Laflamme's leadership,' he said. 'Under Raymond's guidance, IQC has established Waterloo and Canada as the world-leading hub for research in quantum technologies and their applications.' Laflamme's many accolades included being named an Officer of the Order of Canada, the Canadian Association of Physicists CAP-CRM Prize in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics, and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He held the inaugural Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis 'John von Neumann' Chair in Quantum Information. He coauthored two textbooks on quantum computing: Building Quantum Computers: A Practical Introduction and An Introduction to Quantum Computing. In 2020, he and his wife, Janice Gregson, established the Raymond Laflamme and Janice Gregson Graduate Scholarship for Women in Quantum Information Science, awarded annually to recognize top women entering Waterloo's quantum graduate programs. 'Throughout his career, he found ways to bring people together,' the university said in its release. 'This was accomplished on an international scale by leading networks and organizing conferences, and within the local community through pick-up hockey games and sharing his insights generously with students and colleagues.' The university noted that, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, Laflamme started a project with researchers at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener, Ont., to investigate quantum technologies for cancer research and treatment. Laflamme is survived by Gregson and his children, Patrick and Jocelyne. Cremation has taken place, and a celebration of life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family says donations may be made to Lung Cancer Canada, Princess Margaret Foundation or the Waterloo Regional Health Network Foundation – Cancer Centre. The family is also working towards setting up a scholarship fund in Laflamme's memory. An obituary at Erb & Good Family Funeral Home noted Laflamme's love for the outdoors. 'In recent years, he and Janice went on bike tours through France, and Ray embarked on two canoe trips to the Arctic — one with Patrick, one with Jocelyne,' it said, adding: 'He had a knack for turning any project into something special, from building a log cabin sauna by hand to restoring his cherished 1979 VW bus.' The obituary also includes a tribute wall. One person posted: 'Although I only met Ray Laflamme once, I'll never forget his patience in explaining, in lay terms, quantum computing to me.' They added: 'I first learned about his lung cancer diagnosis in an interview with him in the (Waterloo Region) Record. He was speaking out about the importance of early screening for a cancer that is the leading cause of death. The courage he displayed by going public in that article only increased my respect for him. My condolences to his family.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
Ottawa Citizen
24-06-2025
- Science
- Ottawa Citizen
Raymond Laflamme, Canadian pioneer in quantum computing, has died
Article content Raymond Laflamme, a Canadian pioneer in the field of quantum information processing who once worked with Stephen Hawking, has died after a lengthy bout with cancer. Article content The University of Waterloo announced his death in a press release this week. He died June 19 on what would have been his 65th birthday. Article content Article content Born in Québec City, the third of five siblings, Laflamme studied physics as an undergraduate at the Université Laval before moving to England to continue his education there. Article content Article content At Cambridge University, he earned his PhD under the supervision of Stephen Hawking, at one point convincing the eminent scientist (over the course of six months' spirited discussion) that Hawking was wrong in his belief that time would run backwards during the contraction of the universe. Article content Article content Hawking gave credit to Laflamme for this contribution in his best-selling book A Brief History of Time. When Laflamme left Cambridge a few years later, Hawking personalized his copy of the book with a note reading: 'To Raymond, who showed me that the arrow of time is not a boomerang. Thank you for all your help. Stephen.' Article content Article content Article content After Cambridge, Laflamme worked for a number of years at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where his interests shifted from cosmology to quantum computing. Article content Article content In 2001, he returned to Canada and joined the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo and the university's newly created Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. There, he became founding director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, a position he held for 15 years. Article content 'Through his leadership, IQC became a world-class research hub, positioning Canada at the forefront of the quantum revolution,' the university said in its release. 'In his scientific research, Laflamme pioneered theoretical and experimental approaches to quantum information processing and quantum error correction.' Article content It added: 'Laflamme and colleagues developed an innovative approach to quantum information processing using linear optics, the results of which became one of the most referenced works in quantum computing.'
Telegraph
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Expelling Elon Musk would make the Royal Society look like ‘pathetic woke hypocrites'
All his life, Elon Musk has dreamt of being able to live on Mars. And now, I think I can see why. It's so he can get as far away as possible from all the idiots he has to put up with on Earth. That, at any rate, was my first thought when I read the ludicrous following story. At a crisis meeting next month, members of the Royal Society – the scientific institution founded in 1660 – will discuss whether to strip Musk of the fellowship he was awarded in 2018. Why? Because of his supposedly 'disreputable' comments and behaviour since Donald Trump won last year's US election. In November, one Oxford professor resigned her own fellowship after likening Musk to ' a Bond villain '. Now, more than 2,000 scientists have signed an open letter calling on the Society to 'take a stand' against him. Honestly. Let's hope their colleagues have more sense. Because expelling Musk would make the Royal Society look like pathetic woke hypocrites. First of all: even if Musk is a horrid man who says and does nasty things, so what? Does this make his contributions to science (such as in the fields of electric cars and space travel) any less significant? Should we only honour scientists who express opinions of which we approve, and who strike us as jolly nice chaps to have round for dinner? Whenever it emerges that a great poet or painter was a ghastly cad with politically incorrect views, sensible people do not call for him to be stripped of his honours, and for his work to be removed from the school curriculum, because we're capable of separating the art from the artist. So why not separate the science from the scientist? In any case, if the Royal Society decides that fellows should be cancelled for 'disreputable' comments and behaviour, it's going to be pretty busy. Because in the past it awarded fellowships to people who were even more horrid than Musk. Take Isaac Newton – who, as Warden of the Royal Mint, gleefully had men disembowelled, hanged or burnt for the crime of counterfeiting coins. He also relished destroying the reputations of his intellectual rivals. After the death of the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, for example, Newton boasted that he'd taken great pleasure in 'breaking Leibniz's heart'. Little wonder that, in A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking describes Newton as 'not a pleasant man'. Then there's Charles Darwin – who made a number of frightfully problematic remarks about what he called the 'lower races', and wrote that it was damaging for 'civilised men' to 'build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick', and 'to institute poor laws', because as a result 'the weak members of civilised society' were able to 'propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man.' If Newton and Darwin were alive today, would the twits throwing a tantrum over Musk be demanding their expulsion, too? In fact, will they strip these great but not terribly PC men of their fellowships posthumously, as a warning to others? Personally, I think the Royal Society should listen to another of its most celebrated fellows: Benjamin Franklin. In 1722 (under the pseudonym 'Silence Dogood'), Franklin wrote that nothing was more important than free speech. 'Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom,' he explained, 'and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech; which is the Right of every Man [sic].' And, as he might have added, had he been able to foresee the invention of social media: 'Yes, that includes Men who write mean Things on the Internet.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Expelling Elon Musk would make the Royal Society look like ‘pathetic woke hypocrites'
All his life, Elon Musk has dreamt of being able to live on Mars. And now, I think I can see why. It's so he can get as far away as possible from all the idiots he has to put up with on Earth. That, at any rate, was my first thought when I read the ludicrous following story. At a crisis meeting next month, members of the Royal Society – the scientific institution founded in 1660 – will discuss whether to strip Musk of the fellowship he was awarded in 2018. Why? Because of his supposedly 'disreputable' comments and behaviour since Donald Trump won last year's US election. In November, one Oxford professor resigned her own fellowship after likening Musk to 'a Bond villain'. Now, more than 2,000 scientists have signed an open letter calling on the Society to 'take a stand' against him. Honestly. Let's hope their colleagues have more sense. Because expelling Musk would make the Royal Society look like pathetic woke hypocrites. First of all: even if Musk is a horrid man who says and does nasty things, so what? Does this make his contributions to science (such as in the fields of electric cars and space travel) any less significant? Should we only honour scientists who express opinions of which we approve, and who strike us as jolly nice chaps to have round for dinner? Whenever it emerges that a great poet or painter was a ghastly cad with politically incorrect views, sensible people do not call for him to be stripped of his honours, and for his work to be removed from the school curriculum, because we're capable of separating the art from the artist. So why not separate the science from the scientist? In any case, if the Royal Society decides that fellows should be cancelled for 'disreputable' comments and behaviour, it's going to be pretty busy. Because in the past it awarded fellowships to people who were even more horrid than Musk. Take Isaac Newton – who, as Warden of the Royal Mint, gleefully had men disembowelled, hanged or burnt for the crime of counterfeiting coins. He also relished destroying the reputations of his intellectual rivals. After the death of the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, for example, Newton boasted that he'd taken great pleasure in 'breaking Leibniz's heart'. Little wonder that, in A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking describes Newton as 'not a pleasant man'. Then there's Charles Darwin – who made a number of frightfully problematic remarks about what he called the 'lower races', and wrote that it was damaging for 'civilised men' to 'build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick', and 'to institute poor laws', because as a result 'the weak members of civilised society' were able to 'propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man.' If Newton and Darwin were alive today, would the twits throwing a tantrum over Musk be demanding their expulsion, too? In fact, will they strip these great but not terribly PC men of their fellowships posthumously, as a warning to others? Personally, I think the Royal Society should listen to another of its most celebrated fellows: Benjamin Franklin. In 1722 (under the pseudonym 'Silence Dogood'), Franklin wrote that nothing was more important than free speech. 'Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom,' he explained, 'and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech; which is the Right of every Man [sic].' And, as he might have added, had he been able to foresee the invention of social media: 'Yes, that includes Men who write mean Things on the Internet.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
