All eyes were drawn to Harvard and MIT graduate students Jennifer Wang and Matthew Yeh on Feb. 21. Students interested in the Quantum Engineering and You (QuERY) program were invited to an after-school meeting from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

The QuERY program is sponsored by MIT and the Harvard Quantum Initiative and was brought to Bellaire to give students the opportunity to participate weekly from Feb. 12 to May 24 in-person or through zoom meetings. Members group into teams and listen to host talks by mentors, discuss the core quantum concept and create a final project based on their studies. Wang, one of the leaders, was inspired to start this because of her passion for quantum computing research.

“What I really wanted to do in college was math and computer science,” Wang said. “But I had a really good professor who actually worked on some of these diamonds that we brought here as demos, and he was doing quantum computing research. So, I started working in his lab. I thought the diamonds were really pretty and really interesting.”

Graduate student Yeh assures that he wants to provide the opportunity to students whether they see this in their future careers or not.

“You know, we’re not trying to convert everyone here into quantum physicists or quantum engineers,” Yeh said. “We’re really trying to use quantum more as a vehicle to get people excited about science and STEM. To help do that, Jen and I hope to provide some of those resources to the new generation.”

In order to expand her education in various subjects, junior and member Mylinh Bui joined to try the program out.

“I just wanted to broaden my knowledge to know what I want to do in the future,” Bui said. “I want to be able to choose because I haven’t done anything or gotten into anything quantum physics-related, so I think this will be an interesting experience.”

For junior Chloe Lin she knew she was in the right place because of the qualified mentors for a niche topic.

“I think it’s a very good opportunity to learn more about quantum physics,” Lin said. “ Especially since it’s a subject that few people know about. It’s hard for high schoolers to understand, and partnering with MIT and Harvard graduates of Bellaire can offer more insight for us.”

As a former student of Jimmy Newland, the IB Astronomy and Physics II teacher, Wang experienced the same mentorship that this program will provide students.

“I really started researching at Bellaire with Mr. Newland,” Wang said. “I started a NASA research project with the Johnson Space Center at the time, and it was a really exciting experience for me. My goal is to bring this really exciting process of discovery to the Bellaire people, except I cut out all the confusing parts. I hope that they come away from this with a slightly better understanding of quantum physics, but most importantly, being excited about science and a little bit of a better understanding of research and what that is like as a career as well.”

Acting as a mentor in QuERY, Newland understands the importance of research as he sees that in his students.

“What I’ve experienced when I have students do research is they take away the need to stick to it when they are faced with a real challenge that you don’t see when they’re studying for a test or preparing for a paper,” Newland said. “That’s the sort of stick-to-itiveness that research brings out in students, something you can’t teach in the classroom. I think it’s super great that most of the students walk away with something they take away that you don’t get in the classroom.”

QuERY holds a meeting every Wednesday after school in Room 1603, make sure to stop by if you are interested.