Computing at the speed of light
For Sergio Cantu, a second-year PhD student in physics, the future of computing is one in which information moves at the speed of light, and through a network with unparalleled security. In Cantu’s eyes, much of this future is predicated on lasers — which he’s worked with not only as a graduate student, but as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Brownsville and in the year after graduating, as a student in MIT’s Physics Bridge Program, which aims to facilitate students’ transition to PhD coursework. It was during the latter experience that he first set foot in MIT’s Center for Ultracold Atoms, where he conducts research today. “Lately, atomic physics has been going through a renaissance, and for me it was very exciting to join that effort,” Cantu says. “We can control a laser frequency at a much higher precision and accuracy now. This allows us to have better control...