What if the future of technology depends on the surprising ways matter can remember?

Join us for a lecture with Koh Yamakawa, a UC Berkeley physicist studying quantum materials and magnetic topological insulators.

From vinyl grooves to hard-drive bits, our world relies on storing information in matter. But what makes this possible? Koh will break down the role of spontaneous symmetry breaking—the physical phenomenon that allows materials to hold and preserve information—and then take us into the quantum realm, where electrons and topological effects offer entirely new ways to encode data.

Koh’s research explores how magnetism and topology intersect to create exotic behaviors in materials, with the potential to unlock faster, more stable, and radically energy-efficient technologies.

Attendees will leave with a fresh understanding of how the world remembers—and how quantum materials could reshape the future of computing.