This CS@GSSI/ICE-TCS@Reykjavik University joint webinar is held in cooperation with Vísindafélag Íslands (the Icelandic Academy of Sciences) and the Icelandic Physical Society.
Schedule: 30 November 2020, 16:00 GMT, 17:00 Italian time
Virtual link: TBA
Speaker: Scott Aaronson (University of Texas at Austin, USA)
WWW: https://www.scottaaronson.com/
Title: “Quantum Computing and Quantum Computational Supremacy”
Abstract: Last fall, a team at Google announced the first-ever demonstration of “quantum computational supremacy”—that is, a clear quantum speedup over a classical computer for some task—using a 53-qubit programmable superconducting chip called Sycamore. In addition to engineering, Google’s accomplishment built on a decade of research in my field of quantum computing theory. This talk will discuss the intellectual background to the experiment, the interpretation of the results, potential applications to generating cryptographically certified random bits, and the many challenges that remain.
Bio Sketch: Scott Aaronson is David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his bachelor’s from Cornell University and his PhD from UC Berkeley. Before coming to UT Austin, he spent nine years as a professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. Aaronson’s research in theoretical computer science has focused mainly on the capabilities and limits of quantum computers. His first book, Quantum Computing Since Democritus, was published in 2013 by Cambridge University Press. He received the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award, the United States PECASE Award, the Vannevar Bush Fellowship, and the Tomassoni-Chisesi Prize in Physics.
Schedule: 30 November 2020, 16:00 GMT, 17:00 Italian time
Virtual link: TBA
Speaker: Scott Aaronson (University of Texas at Austin, USA)
WWW: https://www.scottaaronson.com/
Title: “Quantum Computing and Quantum Computational Supremacy”
Abstract: Last fall, a team at Google announced the first-ever demonstration of “quantum computational supremacy”—that is, a clear quantum speedup over a classical computer for some task—using a 53-qubit programmable superconducting chip called Sycamore. In addition to engineering, Google’s accomplishment built on a decade of research in my field of quantum computing theory. This talk will discuss the intellectual background to the experiment, the interpretation of the results, potential applications to generating cryptographically certified random bits, and the many challenges that remain.
Bio Sketch: Scott Aaronson is David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his bachelor’s from Cornell University and his PhD from UC Berkeley. Before coming to UT Austin, he spent nine years as a professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. Aaronson’s research in theoretical computer science has focused mainly on the capabilities and limits of quantum computers. His first book, Quantum Computing Since Democritus, was published in 2013 by Cambridge University Press. He received the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award, the United States PECASE Award, the Vannevar Bush Fellowship, and the Tomassoni-Chisesi Prize in Physics.
Joint CS@GSSI/ICE-TCS@Reykjavik University virtual seminar — speaker: Scott Aaronson