From Passion to Opportunity: How the Womanium Quantum Scholarship Event Fueled My Quantum Computing Path - Part 4

This series of articles address the Womanium Global Quantum Media Project. The event's remarkable insights and inspiring stories will be covered in four, or possibly five, articles. Stay tuned, program is still running!

Link to Part 1

Link to Part 2

Link to Part 3

According to the image, The Bohr-Einstein debates refer to a series of discussions and disagreements between two prominent physicists, Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein, regarding the nature of quantum mechanics and the fundamental principles of reality. These debates took place primarily during the 1920s and 1930s and revolved around the interpretation of quantum mechanics, a theory that describes the behavior of matter and energy at the smallest scales. It's important to note that the Bohr-Einstein debates were not resolved definitively during the lifetimes of either physicist, and the nature of these debates remains a subject of ongoing discussion and research among physicists and philosophers of science. The debates, however, did highlight the complexities and philosophical implications of quantum mechanics, which continues to be one of the most fascinating and debated areas of modern physics. We could say that Bohr knocked Einstein, but without Einstein imagination through his EPR paradox, Bell's inequalities would never been addressed in the way that history shows. How does this debate have significant relevance to the field of quantum computing besides the main approaches that Y.Manin and R.Feynman had? Let's dive into some covered topics:

1. Entanglement and Quantum Computing: Entanglement is a phenomenon where two or more particles become correlated in such a way that the state of one particle instantaneously influences the state of another, regardless of the distance between them. Quantum computers take advantage of entanglement to perform computations in ways that classical computers cannot. Quantum bits, or qubits, can be entangled, allowing for the creation of powerful quantum algorithms that exploit this property to solve certain problems more efficiently.
2. Quantum Algorithms and Non-locality: The violation of Bell's inequalities demonstrated the non-local nature of quantum systems, where measurements on entangled particles can lead to correlations that are inconsistent with classical explanations. Quantum computers leverage this non-locality to perform complex computations. Algorithms like Shor's algorithm for factoring large numbers and Grover's algorithm for searching unsorted databases showcase the speed-up potential of quantum computing through exploiting entanglement and superposition.
3. Measurement and Quantum Information: The debates between Bohr and Einstein touched on the role of measurement in quantum mechanics. In quantum computing, measurements play a crucial role in extracting useful information from a quantum system. Quantum algorithms often involve complex interference patterns that require careful measurement strategies to obtain meaningful results.
4. Quantum Cryptography: The discussions around the nature of reality and the implications of entanglement also tie into the field of quantum cryptography. Entanglement-based protocols, such as quantum key distribution (QKD), leverage the unique properties of quantum systems to enable secure communication. The non-local correlations exhibited by entangled particles play a central role in ensuring the security of information exchange.

After this introduction, let's proceed to the schedule of the WOMANIUM Global Quantum Program. We still have two weeks left to unveil, so consider this a call to arms!

Third Week (7/16 - 7/22)

The week began with the hardware lecture titled "Interfacing a Qubit, the Easy Way!" presented by Arash Fereidouni and Bruno Küng , both from Zurich Instruments . The lecture was focused on a review about qubit modalities, control measurements and characterization. There different approaches to interface the several types of qubits that are present within industry: superconducting, spin, neutral atoms, among others. Interface methods for each qubit modality was discussed in detail, including the use of lasers, microwaves, and radio frequencies for control and measurement, which was covered with some exercises through Jupyter Notebooks. Furthermore, you can try your own experiments with LabOneQ, their to accelerate progress in quantum computing. Its Python-based, high-level programming interface enables users to concentrate on intuitive, efficient experiment design, while automatically accounting for their instrumentation details and maximizing useful computation time.

Afterward, we embarked on a virtual lab tour of Zurich Instruments and Berkeley Lab Advanced Quantum Testbed. Representing Lawrence Berkeley National Lab were Anastasiia Butko , Zahra Pedramrazi and Kasra Nowrouzi . They provided us with insightful bullet points about superconducting qubits and offered amazing career advice.

The next day, Danielle Holmes from the University of New South Wales delivered a remarkable hardware lecture titled "Si-based Quantum Computing".

Why Silicon within the Quantum Industry? Silicon is chosen in the quantum industry for the following reasons:

1. Well-Established Microelectronics Industry: Silicon benefits from a mature microelectronics industry, which provides a strong foundation for the fabrication and integration of quantum devices.
2. Small Footprint: Quantum devices using silicon technology can be designed at a remarkably small scale, approximately 100 x 100 nm2, allowing for efficient use of space in quantum systems.
3. Long-Lived Quantum States: Silicon-based qubits exhibit long coherence times, enabling them to maintain stable quantum states over extended periods.
4. High-Quality Gate Fidelity: Silicon qubits demonstrate exceptional single and two-qubit gate fidelities exceeding 99%, ensuring accurate and reliable quantum operations.
5. Operation at Elevated Temperatures: Silicon qubits can be operated at temperatures above 1 K, making them more practical for integration with conventional electronics.

However, the primary challenges faced by silicon-based quantum computing include:

1. Scalability: Transitioning from academic cleanroom environments to large-scale industrial foundries presents challenges in maintaining the quality and precision required for fabricating quantum devices.
2. Architectural Features and Connectivity: Integrating control and readout electronics for quantum devices while ensuring proper connectivity poses architectural challenges that need to be addressed.

Silicon's advantages and challenges make it a fascinating material choice in the quantum computing landscape, with ongoing efforts to overcome hurdles and harness its potential for scalable and efficient quantum technologies.

Moving further, John Levy , SEEQC (Scalable Energy Efficient Quantum Computers) CEO gave keynote lecture on energy efficiency on quantum computing. He showcased their work and their impact in the quantum landscape. By leveraging the inherent quantum properties of superposition and entanglement, quantum systems can perform computations with reduced energy requirements for certain problem types. As researchers strive to build larger and more capable quantum processors, achieving scalability in terms of both computational power and energy efficiency becomes a crucial goal. Successfully scaling quantum systems while maintaining energy efficiency will be instrumental in realizing the transformative potential of quantum computing across diverse fields. The path to carve is really challenging in this topic. After the lecture, John showed positively off SEEQC lab facilities in Elmsford (NY) with an amazing lab tour.

The time for a Hardware Panel deployment had arrived. Kristen Pudenz from Atom Computing , Nick Bronn (yes, Nick knows!) and Olivia Lanes, PhD from IBM , Mana Norouzpour from D-Wave and Bharath Kannan from Atlantic Quantum engaged in an outstanding talk about the different quantum hardware technologies. Serving as a centralized hub for various hardware-related discussions, they delve into the intricacies of hardware design, implementation, and optimization. They took time to explore emerging trends, breakthroughs, and challenges in hardware development across diverse domains. This panel really fostered insightful dialogues, knowledge sharing, and collaboration that contribute to shaping the future landscape of quantum hardware innovation.

After the panel, Catalina Albornoz Anzola from Xanadu Quantum Technologies took the lead in a Quantum Machine Learning Software Bootcamp.

By the use of Xanadu's SDK amazing Pennylane, she was to able to show us how to construct quantum circuits with parametrized parameters (which represented our problem to solve) and to feed them in an optimization routine to get the optimal values for the parameters. Simple, clear and concise way to introduce QML to the audience. Great talk!

In the next day, Alex Koszegi from D-Wave gave a hardware lecture titled "Quantum Annealing". Quantum annealing is a computational technique employed in quantum computing to solve optimization problems. It's a specialized approach within the broader scope of quantum computing and falls under the category of adiabatic quantum computing.

The fundamental idea behind quantum annealing is to start with a quantum system in its ground state, which represents the lowest energy configuration of the system. The system is then gradually evolved or "annealed" to a final Hamiltonian that encodes the optimization problem. The final Hamiltonian should have the lowest energy configuration corresponding to the optimal solution of the problem. As the quantum system evolves from the ground state of the initial Hamiltonian to the ground state of the final Hamiltonian, it explores different configurations or states. The hope is that the system will spend more time in configurations that correspond to better solutions, effectively "searching" for the optimal solution in a quantum parallelism manner. Quantum annealing is particularly suited for solving combinatorial optimization problems as we will see later in the respective bootcamp, where you're looking for the best configuration from a large set of possibilities. Some examples of problems that quantum annealing could help with include the traveling salesman problem, graph partitioning, and protein folding.

At friday, we had a lab tour of NKT Photonics . NKT Photonics is the leading supplier of high-performance fiber lasers and photonic crystal fibers. Our main markets are Medical & Life Science, Industrial, Aerospace & Defense, and Quantum & Nano Technology. Our products include supercontinuum white light lasers, low noise fiber lasers, ultrafast lasers, and a wide range of specialty fibers. NKT Photonics has its headquarters in Denmark with sales and service worldwide and is wholly owned by NKT A/S.

Closing this day, the software bootcamp about Quantum Annealing was presented by Catherine G. Potts, Ph.D. from D-Wave. She showcased a demo of Ocean, D-Wave's SDK and solved an optimization problem through Distributed Computing. Really cool what quantum annealing can achieve.

Career Pitch and Resume Bootcamp

PRACHI J. VAKHARIA and Shabin Raj, both founders of Womanium, were in charge of this part. This talk was designed to empower us in crafting compelling career pitches and creating impactful resumes. We were equipped with the skills and insights needed to effectively communicate their professional value and aspirations to potential employers in a Career Fair held the following week.

During the "Career Pitch" segment, we learned how to succinctly and persuasively convey their skills, experience, and goals. This involved mastering the art of presenting themselves in a way that captivates the attention of hiring managers and recruiters. Through practical exercises and guidance, we gained the confidence to articulate their unique strengths and contributions.

In the "Resume" component of the bootcamp, we received hands-on instruction on building well-structured and tailored resumes. We learned to highlight our achievements, qualifications, and relevant experiences in a manner that aligns with industry standards and employer expectations. Techniques for showcasing accomplishments and utilizing action verbs were covered to create impactful resumes that stand out in a competitive job market like the quantum one.

I was really amazed by the ability of Shabin Raj to take out the best of us just in a couple of seconds of pitching and I was an example of that. Really amazing what the correct words and phrases can achieve if they are leveraged with the right momentum, pace and order.

Well, that's all for this week. Pretty amazing, really?

Stay tuned for the next article, surely we will finish covering the program! More lectures on real-case quantum technologies!