Quantum Information: A First Course (Cambridge University Press, 2025) was recently published, co-authored by Asma Al-Qasimi, PhD, UofT alumna, and Professor Daniel F. V. James, CQIQC member.

Bringing together ideas from physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science, this new textbook offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to the fast-evolving field of quantum information. Aimed at undergraduate and graduate students from diverse STEM backgrounds, it guides readers through topics such as quantum science technologies, quantum computing, and quantum algorithms. The authors combine conceptual clarity with practical depth, offering nearly 300 exercises, focus boxes, and detailed guidance to support both learners and instructors.

As highlighted by Michael Raymer (University of Oregon), the book “is an important and stimulating addition to the literature on learning and teaching quantum information science… written in the voices of two outstanding educators and quantum researchers who sincerely want their readers to understand, not just absorb, the material.”

Other scholars have praised the book’s clarity, accessibility, and pedagogical strength. Andrew White (University of Queensland) described it as “a masterful and accessible text that seamlessly blends mathematical, physical, and occasional literary exposition,” while Rainer Blatt (University of Innsbruck) called it “an invaluable resource for students and scholars of quantum information.”

The book’s approachable style and structured exercises make it suitable not only for classroom instruction but also for independent study and research. As Robert Joynt (University of Wisconsin) noted, “It fills possible student knowledge gaps, strikes the tricky balance between accessibility and rigor, and combines these virtues with grace of exposition and a sense of humour.”