University of Sydney
Project Title
As a final grant for a project on the implications of quantum theory and its application for international peace and security
Date
Sep. 12, 2019
Duration
51 months
Description
Quantum theory, the most accurately tested theory in modern science, is used in a vast array of everyday applications, from lasers to MRI scanners to cell phones, and was fundamental to the development of the atom bomb. Yet, its core principles remain difficult to grasp. The renewal grant will support a final phase of an innovative, interdisciplinary “Project Q” at the University of Sydney’s Centre for International Security Studies (CISS) that teases out the implications of new and poorly comprehended developments in this highly complicated field. The project will continue bringing together an eclectic mix of scientists, philosophers, diplomats, soldiers, scholars, writers, artists, and futurists to explore the origins, elements, and outcomes of a quantum age. Through films, podcasts, e-books, traditional scholarly volumes, journal articles, and trade publications, the project will remain focused on the central question: To what extent will quantum be a technology for peace or war?
Project Title
For the Project Q symposium on peace and security in a quantum age
Date
Jun. 01, 2017
Duration
0 months
Description
This proposed renewal grant builds on an initial investment that can best be categorized as “over the horizon,” philanthropic venture capital. It involves continued support for a bold, interdisciplinary effort at the University of Sydney’s Centre for International Security Studies to tease out the implications for international peace and security of new and poorly comprehended developments in the highly complex field of quantum mechanics. Harkening back to Albert Einstein’s admonition at the beginning of the atomic age that “everything has changed, except our way of thinking,” this project will continue to bring together an eclectic mix of scientists, philosophers, diplomats, soldiers, scholars, writers, artists, and futurists to “explore the origins, elements, and outcomes of a quantum age.”