From: Ryan Camacho
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 1:55 PM
To: Ryan Camacho <camacho@byu.edu>
Subject: SIPQNP Workshop Postponed
Dear SIPQNP Attendees,
Out of an abundance of caution and in light of COVID-19 travel restrictions placed on an increasing number of participants, we are postponing the SIPQNP conference in Snowbird UT. We are currently working with NSF and Snowbird to assess options for rescheduling. We anticipate late summer as the most likely time frame, and will keep you updated in the coming days. One option we considered is converting SIPQNP into a virtual meeting, but feel strongly that the strength of SIPQNP has been in-person interactions and discussions that would likely not be replicated in a virtual setting.
The Snowbird Resort is allowing any SIPQNP participant to cancel their rooms with a full refund. Please contact Snowbird directly ASAP to ensure your refund is processed. The Snowbird reservation office can be reached at 800-453-3000. We understand that some of you may have other travel expenses that are not eligible for a refund and we apologize for the inconvenience.
Thank you again for your interest in the SIPQNP workshop! We’ll keep you posted as we work out new dates and logistics and place all new information on the SIPQNP website.
Sincerely,
Ryan Camacho
(on behalf of the organizers Saikat Guha, Dirk Englund, Dan Kilper, Prineha Narang, Stephen Ralph and Don Towsley)
___________________________________________________________________________
MARCH 6, 2020 5:26 PM MST
Dear colleagues,
Inasmuch as my co-organizers and I are looking forward to the 6th SIPQNP in
beautiful Snowbird, we are also keeping a close and cautionary eye on the
developing situation with regards to the COVID-19 spread in the US.
The organizers have discussed, and the SIPQNP has not (yet) been cancelled. If
a domestic travel ban gets placed during this coming week for all-work-related
travel, either by multiple institutions or by the government, we will cancel
the event, let you know promptly, and post it on our website (www.sipqnp.com). Regardless, we will set up
teleconference with good AV capability, should some of you have to attend
remotely.
However, even if we do go forward with the SIPQNP, we would like to urge
everyone to take extreme precautions (please see: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/faqs.html).
If you have traveled to a CDC-rated risk-1, 2 or 3 country in the last two
weeks, we would urge you to attend the SIPQNP remotely. Finally, we won’t shake
hands at the event (elbow bumps are okay!).
That said, I am looking forward to the SIPQNP. The organizers have been in
direct communications with you regarding the organization of the individual
sessions. If you see your name in the agenda (https://www.sipqnp.com/agenda/) —
either as a session lead, moderated discussion lead, speakers and/or panelists
— please be prepared accordingly! If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to email the organizers. All logistical questions can be directed to
Brianna Moreno (cc-ed).
The goal of this workshop, since its inception, has been to encourage intense
and productive dialogue cross-cutting disciplines and technical backgrounds.
The moderated discussion leaders have a big responsibility in shaping the
discussions in their sessions, so as to incite the most important questions and
discussions.
In the opening session, we will introduce to you a white paper, of which Dan
Kilper and Ryan Camacho are leading the preparations. This white paper will be
used to get the communities’ inputs on a vision for a national scale testbed /
user facility for quantum photonic devices, aimed at accelerating the growth of
truly-meaningful engineering advances in quantum enhanced information
processing. We will work as a group in the afternoon of day 2, to fill in the gaps
for the white paper.
I look forward to seeing you at Snowbird on March 16. Please direct any
questions you may have to the organizers (in the cc field) – please do not copy
all in a reply. Thank you all again for making the time, and for your enthusiastic
ongoing support for this unique workshop!
Regards,
Saikat Guha
(on behalf of the organizers: Ryan Camacho, Dirk Englund, Dan Kilper, Prineha
Narang, Stephen Ralph and Don Towsley)