Where does Quantum Optics fit?

[woepriest]

Im a undergrad here and going to finish my last 2 years of classes. Now I really have to look at what grad school programs are offered at different UCs. The problem is that I want to do something in Quantum Optics which is somewhere under experimental quantum physics, but as I look for it almost no school offer it. So am I looking at the wrong place or is it under a different category? Also this should pretty much be applied physics instead of theoretical since I read research papers that are getting this kind of technology out right?

 

[wukunlin]

definitely a field of theoretical physics/quantum mechanics

it is the on of the main focuses of my university (Auckland), have you checked the department staff and each of their specialized fields? some college websites are just poorly designed...

 

[raymo39]

where have you been looking woepriest? because as the above poster mentioned, quantum optics is heavily researched in Auckland, I am in australia at the university of queensland (UQ), and UQ and the australian national university have a strong research partnership with the government here into quantum optics.
its also a very important area of research in Europe, there you would want to check out the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Physics

 

[woepriest]

Australia... I am on the other side of the ocean at California. Thanks for the info, will definitely look into it. I can't really find anything on this on my side of the country unless its Standford or CIT, not even smart enough to go to those schools.

 

[Mike H]

A short Google search for "quantum optics usa" pulled up this as the first result -

http://www.quantumoptics.net/

I would consider this only a starting point - if you're already reading the literature, it's a good idea to see who the authors cite and who has cited those papers to get an idea of who's who in the field.

 

[raymo39]

Australia... I am on the other side of the ocean at California. Thanks for the info, will definitely look into it. I can't really find anything on this on my side of the country unless its Standford or CIT, not even smart enough to go to those schools.

yeah i know that caltech does a bit of this also in their applied physics labs, but this sort of stuff is all post graduate work (ie. once youve got a bachelors) in which case its not necessarily about how smart you are to get into a lab, its possible to get in by just being more dedicated to learning the topic than someone else.
Another way to get in is something like summer research opportunities. A lot of labs will take on undergrads over the summer as sort of a way for the undergrad to learn about the real world. Try and get in touch with a lecturer in a uni nearby that researches in quantum optics and see how you go?