Finding ourselves in the Capital of Quantum: a general education course at UMD

The growth in the field of quantum information science and engineering (QISE) has spurred a growth in educational programs. These programs are largely focused on recruiting and training the next generation of the quantum workforce. Courses and programs for those in majors other than STEM are also becoming more common. These courses tend to address what an informed citizen should know about QISE and what they can learn, given “limited” mathematical backgrounds. This presentation explores the development and redesign of a general education course about QISE, the history of its development, and its potential societal impacts at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). In this course, students drive two parallel threads of inquiry, in one examining the field of QISE, how it works and how it came to be. And in the other, they explore their own connection to our university (UMD) as the “Capital of Quantum.” This presentation will focus on the mechanisms by which these threads of inquiry meaningfully connect, as students construct their own answers to the big question, “Why is UMD the Capital of Quantum?”