Sebastian is joined by Olivia Lanes, Global Lead for Education and Learning, IBM Quantum to discuss quantum education, IBM's efforts to provide resources for workforce development, the importance of diversity and equality in STEM, and her own personal journey from experimental physics to community building and content creation. Recorded on the RPI campus during the launch event of their IBM System One quantum computer. Key Topics: - Olivia's background in experimental quantum physics and transition to education at IBM Quantum - Lowering barriers to entry in quantum computing education through ..read more

For this episode, Sebastian is on his own, as Kevin is taking a break. Sebastian accepted a gracious invite to the ribbon cutting event at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Rome, NY, where the university was launching their on-campus IBM System One -- the first commercial quantum computer on a university campus! This week, the episode is a recording a live event hosted by Sebastian. The panel of RPI faculty and staff talk about their decision to deploy a quantum computer in their own computing center -- a former chapel from the 1930s! - what they hope the RPI community will do with the devic ..read more

Dr. Martin Savage is a professor of nuclear theory and quantum informatics at the University of Washington. His research explores using quantum computing to investigate high energy physics and quantum chromodynamics. Dr. Savage transitioned from experimental nuclear physics to theoretical particle physics in his early career. Around 2017-2018, limitations in classical computing for certain nuclear physics problems led him to explore quantum computing. In December 2022, Dr. Savage's team used 112 qubits on IBM's Heron quantum processor to simulate hadron dynamics in the Schwinger Model. This g ..read more

In this episode, Sebastian and Kevin interview Professor Yuefei Ding, an associate professor at UC San Diego, who specializes in the intersection of theoretical physics and computer science. They discuss Dr. Ding's research on system architecture in quantum computing and the potential impact of AI on the field. Ding's work aims to replicate the critical stages of classical computing development in the context of quantum computing. The conversation explores the challenges and opportunities in combining computer science, theoretical and experimental quantum computing, and the potential applicati ..read more

In this special solo episode recorded at Q2B Paris 2024, Sebastian talks with Houlong Zhuang, assistant professor at Arizona State University, about his work in material science.  Dr. Zhuang discusses his research on using quantum computing and machine learning to simulate high entropy alloy materials. The goal is to efficiently predict material properties and discover new material compositions. Density functional theory (DFT) is a commonly used classical computational method for materials simulations. However, it struggles with strongly correlated electronic states. Quantum computers ha ..read more

No guest this episode! Instead, Kevin and Sebastian have a conversation looking back on the events of 2023 in quantum computing, wiht a particular focus on three trends: some waning of enthusiasm in the private sector, a surge of investments from the public sector as national and regional governments invest in the quantum computing value chain and the shift from a focus on NISQ to logical qubits. Qureca's overview of public sector quantum initiatives in 2023 Preskill's NISQ paper from 2018 (yes, I was off by a few years!) The paper that introduced the idea of VQE: A variational eigenvalue solv ..read more

Kevin and Sebastian are joined by Dr. Vladan Vuletic, the Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics at the Center for Ultracold Atoms and Research in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology At the end of 2023, the quantum computing community was startled and amazed by the results from a bombshell paper published in Nature on December 6th, titled Logical quantum processor based on reconfigurable atom arrays  in which Dr. Vuletic's group collaborated with Dr Mikhail Lukin's group at Harvard to create 48 logical qubits from an array of 280 atoms. Scott Aaronson does a ..read more

Summary In this episode, Sebastian and Kevin are joined by Chiara Decaroli, a quantum physicist and venture capitalist. Chiara shares her unique journey into the field of quantum, starting from a small village in Italy to earning her PhD in quantum physics. She explains the history of ion trapping and how it led to the development of quantum computing. Chiara also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of trapped ion systems and the challenges of investing in early-stage quantum startups. In this conversation, Chiara Decaroli discusses the challenges of assessing quantum technologies and the d ..read more

In this episode of The New Quantum Era, Kevin Rowney and Sebastian Hassinger are joined by Dr. Ieva Čepaitė to delve into the nuanced world of quantum physics and computation. Dr. Čepaitė discusses her journey into quantum computing and her work on counterdiabatic methods used to optimize the control of many body quantum states. She provides an overview of the landscape of new algorithms available within the field. She points out the importance of understanding the hardware to implement a quantum algorithm effectively. The focus then shifts to a discussion on adiabatic and counterdiabatic syst ..read more

In this interview, independent quantum information science researcher and consultant, Dr. Cassandra Grenade, shares their journey from triple majoring in physics, math, and computer science to their current consulting work with their firm, Dual Space Solutions. She discusses the concept behind the Quantum Intermediate Representation project (QIR), a tool which represents quantum programs and allows language designers to work independently of specific quantum processor details. Cassandra explains how QIR can solve the 'N to M' problem, where multiple language designs must interface with multipl ..read more