ACMD Seminar: Quantum Computation: from philosophy to technology in one generation

Stephen P. Jordan
Applied and Computational Mathematics Division, NIST

Thursday, January 4, 2018, 15:00 - 16:00
Building 101, Portrait Room
Gaithersburg

Thursday, January 4, 2018, 13:00 - 14:00
Room 1-1107
Boulder

Abstract: Quantum information science, which originated in the 70s and 80s in the thought experiments of philosophically minded physicists, is now yielding real-world technologies. Quantum key distribution, in which communications are protected against eavesdroppers by the laws of quantum mechanics, has already been commercialized, as have various quantum-information-based technologies for precision sensing, timing, and navigation. Quantum computers promise to perform certain tasks exponentially faster than conventional computers, including code breaking, and simulations for chemistry, physics, and materials science. The construction of a scalable general-purpose quantum computer remains a relatively distant goal, but advances in quantum error correction over the last five years have sparked a surge in investment by both government and industry across the globe. In this talk I will give an overview of quantum information technologies, the foundations of their operation, their history, and their prospects.

Bio: Stephen Jordan earned his PhD in physics from  MIT in 2008, and from 2008-2011 was the Sherman Fairchild Prize Postodctoral Fellow at Caltech's Institute for Quantum Information. He joined the NIST Information Technology Laboratory in April 2011, and since 2014 has been a Fellow of the NIST/UMD Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS). An expert in theoretical physics, with a specialization in quantum information science, Stephen studies quantum algorithms, complexity theory and post-quantum cryptography. In particular, his interests include simulating chemistry and particle physics on quantum computers, applying methods from physics and topology to computer science, and investigating alternative models of quantum computation, such as the adiabatic, permutational and one-clean-qubit models. His collaborators include many of the leaders in the field, including Peter Shor, John Preskill, Andrew Childs and Eddie Farhi. In 2017, Stephen received the Sigma Xi NIST Chapter's Katharine B. Gebbie Young Investigator Award.