Caroline Lima and Ireneo James Membrere win the 2026 David Johnston Outreach Award
The two Institute for Quantum Computing students were recognized for public outreach; the award is worth $2,500 to each recipient.
The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) named PhD candidate Caroline Lima and master’s student Ireneo James Membrere as the 2026 David Johnston Outreach Award recipients for their work as outreach volunteers. The award is worth $2,500 per recipient and honours David Johnston, Waterloo’s president from 1999 to 2010, for his contributions to IQC.
Lima studies quantum field theory and quantum gravity in Physics and Astronomy. She says the word quantum is often used to sell pseudoscience, and she volunteers so people can keep the wonder while learning to tell real science from nonsense. She did not meet a scientist in person before university and wants others to have that encounter.
Membrere, in Applied Mathematics, develops quantum information protocols and implements them with superconducting circuits. He likes working one-on-one with students during virtual lectures and says outreach raises scientific literacy. IQC outreach manager John Donohue said their efforts have made a significant impact on many young scientists.
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