Elke Porter | Westcoast German News Media | May 6, 2025
The Max Planck-UBC-UTokyo Centre for Quantum Materials launched its 2025 Summer School with an inspiring opening ceremony, welcoming students, postdoctoral researchers and leading scientists to a three-day deep dive into one of physics most dynamic fields: magnetism.
Held in UBC Vancouver’s Fred Kaiser Building from May 608, the event was titled “Magnetism: From Exotic States of Matter to Quantum Technologies.” The program aims to bridge foundational science and emerging applications, bringing together international students working under supervisors at UBC, Max Planck Institute and the University of Tokyo.
The Program includes lectures, poster sessions, and collaborative discussions led by distinguished speakers, such as Kentaro Kitagawa, Akito Sakai, Bernhard Kaimer (Germany) and Industry professionals like Ashley Nicole Warner of D-Wave Systems.
The Opening was marked by the presence of VIP guests, including UBC QMI Scientific Director Prof. Andrea Damascelli, Deputy Scientific Director Prof. Marcel Franz, Investigator Prof. Alannah Hallas, UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Prof. Benoit-Antoine Bacon, His Excellence Marc Eichhorn, Consul General of Germany and His Excellency Takahashi Yoshiaki, Consul General of Japan. Their attendance underscored the significance of the The Max Planck-UBC-UTokyo Center for Quantum Materials, a trilateral partnership renewed in 2022 for a historic third term, unprecedented in Max Planck Society’s global framework.
Blusson QMI became UBC’s first Global Research Excellence (GREx) Institute in 2016, following a $66.5 million investment from the Government of Canada through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF)—the largest federal research investment in UBC’s history. The Institute is home to one of Canada’s most advanced R&D facilities for quantum materials, including the cutting-edge Advanced Nanofabrication Facility (ANF), a hub that supports partnerships between academia, industry, and government. The ANF positions British Columbia as a leader in quantum device manufacturing and next-generation technologies.
Picture above: The lab I am standing is the “Quantum Materials Lab” which conducts “angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES)” measurements.
A joint PhD program between Blusson QMI with the Max Planck and the University of Stuttgart. The program’s first graduate, Rafael Haenel, now works as a Quantum Software Engineer in Vancouver’s thriving tech sector. With a mix of theoretical insight, experiemental innovation and international cooperation, the Max Planck-UBC-UTokyo Centre for Quantum Materials Summer School is not only educating the next generation of physicists, it’s shaping the future of quantum science.
Learn more about Blusson QMI’s initiatives and programs for a more inclusive, sustainable and prosperous Canada here: https://qmi.ubc.ca/
Photo Credit: Paul Joseph
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