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.
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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
U of W physics prof makes chilling Canadian scientific breakthrough
A University of Winnipeg professor and his team broke a Canadian record while taking what might just be a big step that gets scientists closer to understanding the universe's makeup. Jeff Martin's research team recently broke the Canadian record — previously held by his same crew — for ultracold neutron production. The process takes extremely hot and difficult-to-control neutrons — extremely small subatomic particles — out of an atom's nucleus and cools them so they can be studied more precisely. SUPPLIED Dr. Jeff Martin with the particle accelerator. He and his team broke a Canadian particle physics record this summer – producing 900,000 ultracold neutrons with each proton pulse. The breakthrough in the volume produced could lead to advanced knowledge about the Big Bang-created universe. 'Currently a big problem in physics is we don't know why the universe has matter in it. We can't explain that. It seems like it should have an equal amount of antimatter, but we don't see any antimatter anywhere,' Martin explained. '(The experiment) should enable us to discover something about antimatter, why there isn't any antimatter… the thought is: maybe the neutron does violate symmetry in some way, and we've just never seen it before because we couldn't measure precisely enough.' Through the process of taking protons and smashing them into atomic nuclei, neutrons are released at a very high heat. By cooling them, the neutrons bounce off materials instead of moving through them and can be bottled and examined. 'We had lots of simulations that were telling us that we should be able to break (the record). But these experiments have a long history of you open the valve and nothing comes out,' Martin said. 'When you had an experiment like that where you open the valve and nothing comes out, usually the second and third tries are also like that until you really figure out what's going on. It just shows that we really understand what's going on in our experiments.' The team, including professors and students from across Canada, collaborates with international scientists from Japan and conduct the studies at the TRIUMF particle accelerator lab in Vancouver. Martin has been working on the experiments since 2008. In the next few months, the team hopes to pass safety inspections on its latest neutron refrigerator iteration, which will hopefully produce up to 50 million ultracold neutrons. The volume would surpass the current world record held by a research team based in Switzerland. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'Once we get there no one can touch us,' Martin said. The experiment has secondary effects, too; new technologies developed for the study, such as diamond-like carbon coatings and sensitive magnetic sensors, may have applications in medical and other fields. Martin said if the team can market the sensors to the right people, medical processes, including MRIs, can be greatly improved. 'Potentially, our magnetic technologies developed in Winnipeg also could be useful for medical applications,' he said. Nicole BuffieMultimedia producer Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole. Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Toronto Sun
7 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Concordia students' rocket launch in northern Quebec makes history
The Starsailor, built by a student-led rocketry club, is the first rocket launched on Canadian soil in the 21st century. Published Aug 15, 2025 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 3 minute read First test using liquid nitrogen at Concordia University's Loyola campus in N.D.G. in March, to check that Starsailor's propulsion and on-board computer systems were functioning correctly. Space Concordia Rocketry Division Concordia University's rocketry club made history early Friday morning, launching the most-powerful student-built liquid-fuelled rocket ever made toward space. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account It was the first rocket launch in more than 25 years to take place on Canadian soil, and the first ever in Quebec. Students who had driven more than 1,000 kilometres from Montreal to the launchpad north of the Cree village of Mistissini cheered and whooped as the 42-foot-long Starsailor rocket blasted off around 5:30 a.m. More than 40 current and former students who had worked on the development of the rocket travelled to the region to be part of the historic moment that had taken more than seven years to achieve. Members of the Cree community helped with the sendoff, supplying the land for the launch and constructing makeshift homes for the students to live in for weeks while they prepared for takeoff. 'Everyone's crying,' said one team member, captured on a livestream of the event. 'We're shivering because we're cold, but also because we're excited.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Fueled by liquid oxygen and jet fuel, the rocket quickly became a small flash in the sky and then disappeared as it shot upward at speeds estimated at 4,000 kilometres an hour. It remains to be seen whether the student club achieved its ultimate goal of becoming the first civilian group to send a liquid-fuelled rocket into space. To do so, the rocket will have to fly 100 kilometres into the sky past the Karman line, recognized as the boundary to outer space. Computer recordings of the flight will determine how fast and far it travelled. Students noted during the flight that the rocket did not fire for as long as expected. Team members had been planning for the engine to burn for at least 30 seconds, but one member noted it appeared there were only 23 seconds of thrust. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Whatever the ultimate outcome, Concordia's student-led rocketry club achieved a historic sendoff, firing the first rocket to be launched on Canadian soil in the 21st century. To power Starsailor, the team members had built in 2021 the most powerful student-built rocket engine ever recorded, stronger than the first engines built by Elon Musk's SpaceX corporation. It was then that they knew they had something capable of sending a rocket into space. The remote location was chosen to reduce the chance of a catastrophic accident in case the rocket veered off course. Transport Canada rerouted commercial air traffic in the region to allow for the launch. It took several years for the students to granted permission from Transport Canada for the launch. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The rocketry division of Concordia's University's space club began working on Starsailor seven years ago as part of an international student competition offering a $1-million prize. When the deadline for the competition ended without their building a working rocket, students decided to continue with their quest, with most members graduating and others stepping in to fill their positions. Since 2018, more than 700 students have had a hand in designing and building the rocket and its multiple components, with aid of faculty from the Gina Cody School of Engineering and dozens of sponsors. 'If they're successful with their launch, it will be the first amateur liquid-fuelled rocket to reach space in the world ever,' Adam Trumpour, founder of the university rocketry competition Launch Canada told the Montreal Gazette in June. 'So it's absolutely historic.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The club estimates it has collected more than $1 million in cash through fundraising, university and government grants and corporate donations. Another $4 million in donations came in the form of free tools, equipment and software. Prior to the launch, the students drove more than 10 hours north from Montreal to the launch site and stayed for days in uninsulated wooden huts where they could sleep and prepare for the launch. They had to wait for more than a week before the weather conditions allowed them to proceed, as storms passed through the region. A period of low winds was needed so that the rocket would not be blown off course On Friday morning, amid dead calm as the sun began to rise, all conditions were finally in alignment. Now comes the recovery mission, as team members attempt to find the rocket containing more than 60,000 components and computer recordings. If things went as planned, parachutes deployed, allowing the rocket to float back to Earth. Telemetry devices designed by the students will hopefully allow them to track the whereabouts of Starsailor. 'Goodbye everyone (heart emoji)' Space Concordia wrote in the comments section of their livestream broadcast. 'It was a blast.' This story will be updated. Other Sports Ontario World Toronto & GTA Canada
Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Concordia University students launch rocket from northern Quebec
MONTREAL – A group of students at Concordia University in Montreal has managed to launch a rocket from a remote site in northern Quebec. Starsailor, a 13-metre liquid-fuel rocket, took off just after 5:30 a.m. this morning. It's unclear whether the rocket reached space, as it separated earlier than planned less than a minute after liftoff. More than 700 Concordia students have contributed to the Starsailor program since it began in 2018. The launch took place about 250 kilometres north of the Cree community of Mistissini, and the students worked closely with Cree leaders. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. If the rocket reached space, it would mark the first space launch from Canadian soil in more than 25 years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
