Paul Simmonds, CAREER Award, Physics, Photo by Allison Corona(Allison Corona/Boise State University)

Famed 20th-century scientist Albert Einstein called the idea of quantum entanglement "spooky" and even set about to disprove it. But generations later, a Boise State University researcher is recreating the process in a laboratory to determine how photons communicate instantly with each other across great distances. This is the field of quantum physics and it requires the use of nanotechnology, but it also has future implications for quantum computing and quantum cryptography.

Paul Simmonds has a joint appointment at Boise State as an associate professor in the Department of Physics and in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He runs the Collaboratory for Epitaxy of Nanomaterials. Idaho Matters talks with Dr. Simmonds about his work and its applications.