Quantum Computing: Transforming the Digital Age

Public lecture by Dr. Krysta Svore, Microsoft Research

In 1981, Richard Feynman proposed a device called a “quantum computer” to take advantage of the laws of quantum physics to achieve computational speed-ups over classical methods. Quantum computing promises to revolutionize how we compute. Over the course of three decades, quantum algorithms have been developed that offer fast solutions to problems in a variety of fields including number theory, optimization, chemistry, physics, and materials science. Quantum devices have also significantly advanced such that components of a scalable quantum computer have been demonstrated in a variety of quantum systems. In this talk, I will attempt to reveal some of the mysteries of this disruptive computational paradigm. I will showcase recent advances in quantum algorithms for real-world applications and in scalable, fault-tolerant devices.

Biography

Dr. Krysta Svore is a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research in Redmond, Washington, where she manages the Quantum Architectures and Computation group. Svore’s research includes the development and implementation of quantum algorithms, including the design of a scalable, fault-tolerant software architecture for translating a high-level quantum program into a low-level, device-specific quantum implementation, and the study of quantum error correction codes and noise thresholds. She has also developed machine-learning methods for web applications, including ranking, classification, and summarization algorithms. Dr. Svore received an ACM Best of 2013 Notable Article award. In 2010, she was a member of the winning team of the Yahoo! Learning to Rank Challenge. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Science with highest distinction from Columbia University in 2006 and her B.A. from Princeton University in Mathematics and French in 2001. She is a Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), serves as a representative for the Academic Alliance of the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), and is an active member of the American Physical Society (APS).

Parking
Visitor parking is available in lot M for $6.

Ticket holders must be in their seats no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the lecture. After this time, guests in the waiting line will be invited into the theatre to fill any empty seat.