The Idea Way

Each Tuesday, we’ll dive into a different topic, from coding basics and GitHub to AI and trending tech innovations. Our presentations are designed to be engaging and accessible, ensuring everyone can join the tech conversation, no matter your level of expertise.

Every Friday afternoon at Northern Illinois University, faculty members step away from their research to share their work in an entirely different way. Northern Exposure transforms academic research into accessible, engaging conversations that anyone can understand and appreciate. Meeting from 1:00 to 2:00 PM in the 71 North Partnership Studio, this weekly meetup ditches formal presentations for relaxed discussions. Faculty explain their work the way they might to a friend over coffee, making complex ideas understandable and their passion for discovery contagious.

Saturday, September 19, 2026 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. STEM Fest is a celebration of all things science, technology, engineering and math. This free event is held each year in the fall on the campus of Northern Illinois University and features more than 100 exhibits, speakers and demonstrations designed to inspire and engage guests of […]

The session will introduce qubits and the IBM Qiskit platform for simulating qubit behavior. We’ll begin with a 10-minute overview, followed by hands-on exploration where participants can experiment with basic qubit operations. From there, we’ll move into an application in quantum encryption: starting with bitmask-based encryption, then demonstrating how qubits can be used to exchange bitmask keys securely. Students will then have an opportunity to write their own code to implement qubit-based key exchange. The format will be approximately 25% lecture and 75% hands-on activity.