Outreach

Loïc Millet and Shashank Kumar at the Swiss AGORA initiative, Switzerland, 2025.

From March to May, 2025, and as part of the Swiss National Fund’s AGORA initiative, an outreach program on optics and quantum optics was conducted for six groups of high school students from the canton of Geneva. The goal was to introduce fundamental concepts of quantum physics through interactive lectures and hands-on demonstrations in a real research environment. The students were welcomed to the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), where they attended a theoretical lecture followed by guided experimental sessions.

Core concepts such as quantum superposition, the impact of measurement, single photon interferometry, entanglement, and Bell’s inequalities were explored. Two experimental setups were prepared:

Free-space Michelson Interferometer: A Michelson Morley experiment using 1550nm laser was implemented.

2. Bell Test using Polarization-Entangled Photon Pairs: A type 2, free space polarisation entangled source was setup. The pump wavelength being 780nm and entangled pair generation at around 1560nm.

These experiments were set up by Shashank Kumar (QSI PhD student) in collaboration with professors from UNIGE. The sessions were presented to students by Loïc Millet (QSI PhD Student) and Margherita Boselli (PhD, Teacher in training), ensuring a dynamic and engaging experience. The theoretical lecture materials were prepared by Augustin Baas (PhD) and reviewed collaboratively by the team. These lectures were delivered by the students’ regular teachers on the day of the visit, prior to the experimental demonstrations.

Photo 1: Shashank Kumar during the experimental sessions.

——————————————–

Photo 2: Loïc Millet during his explanations.

——————————————–

The experimental presentation scenario and student handouts (including schematics and inquiry-based questions) were primarily developed by the high school teacher, the teacher-in training, and Loïc Millet. The activities were designed to be highly interactive, encouraging students to engage actively, ask questions, and develop their understanding through discovery.

This collaborative project involved:

3 Professors from the University of Geneva.
1 High School Teacher (PhD and postdoc).
1 Teacher-in-Training (PhD and Postdoc).
3 PhD Students (Shashank Kumar, Loic Millet and Javier Nuñez).

The QSI Art Contest was also promoted during the sessions to further stimulate creative engagement with quantum science. Feedback from the participating students and teachers has been overwhelmingly positive. The students demonstrated strong interest, asked insightful questions, and were highly engaged
throughout the program.

The following schools participated on the dates listed below: