His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Chairman of the Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST), stressed the need for modern scientific discoveries, applications, and technologies to empower humans and improve their dignity. This came during His Highness’ patronage of the activities of the 10th season of the Petra School of Physics under the slogan “Quantum Computing: Theory and Applications,” which was organized by the Faculties of Science at the University of Jordan and Yarmouk University in cooperation with the Higher Council for Science and Technology and Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in the Italian city of Trieste.
His Highness stated that the purpose of hosting the School’s activities this year is to activate and stimulate the scientific research in Jordan, to create a broad forum in the Arab world for exchanging views on science and technology and their impact on development, and to emphasize the role of physics in the development process.
His Highness also stressed the importance of adopting analytical thinking, spreading the culture of science, creativity, leadership and innovation, and creating a base for absolute knowledge, noting the importance of partnership in knowledge and the exchange of experiences that would achieve sustainable development.
For his part, the President of the University of Jordan, Professor Nathir Obaidat, called on the universities, industries, and markets to formulate the organizational, educational, and commercial strategies to increase potentials and mitigate the negative impact of quantum computing on them. He then explained that the quantum computer is not just a device for analyzing codes, but a device that carries profound potential in the world of computation, indicating that the transformative power of quantum technologies motivates us to deal with them responsibly.
For his part, the President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, stressed that to be a teacher and researcher in science, you must be a student who always searches for renewed knowledge, pointing out that “absolute truths are always relative for tomorrow”. He then stated that the Petra School of Physics, which is being held by the Universities of Jordan and Yarmouk, constitutes a well-established scientific demonstration and a distinguished scientific forum at the international and local levels. He also said that the School complies with the vision of Yarmouk University for leadership and excellence in the fields of education, scientific research, and community service.
Moreover, Dr. Hammam Ghaseeb, the honorary professor at the University of Jordan and the representative of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), said that quantum computing is developing tremendously and will play an important role in achieving development and its implications for various different sectors of work if it is understood well and harnessed to address the challenges and problems facing the development path.
The head of the School, Dr. Sami Al-Mahmoud, said that the quantum technology is a rapidly developing field and has the potential to cause a scientific revolution from computing and communications to medicine and security, from computation to communications and cryptography, precise sensing, and simulation. He added that the 10th season of the Petra School of Physics discusses the solutions that quantum computing can provide to a wide range of critical problems in the real world and the various technologies adopted to produce quantum computing devices and components.
It is noteworthy that the Petra School was established in 1980 under the patronage of His Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal after the visit of the Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Dr. Mohammad Abdel-Salam, to Jordan in 1979. Its first conference was launched in 1982 and was held for the purpose of introducing Jordanian and regional students, scientists, and engineers to the latest developments in modern science as the scientific team of physicists at the University of Jordan and Yarmouk University began their joint work and research since the launch of the first conference, which was sponsored by Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics.
