University of Pennsylvania physicists Charles Kane, left, and Eugene Mele, right, pose in their office on April 16, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pa. They’ve introduced a new class of materials known as topological insulators that in addition to allowing the production of electronic devices with better efficiency (and less heat in your laptop computer), also are expected to be useful in the creation of superfast “quantum” computers. (Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)