Quantum Summer School Is Just Around the Corner – Campus Technology

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A Q&A with Dr. David Stewart

As higher education embraces quantum computing, quantum information science, and all things quantum, numerous programs, courses, and events exist to connect the leading researchers, industry innovators, students in an emerging workforce, national labs and government funding organizations, and interdisciplinary faculty who form the core of the quantum movement. Here, Campus Technology asks the managing director of Purdue University's Quantum Science and Engineering Institute about efforts in quantum education, especially this year's Quantum Summer School, an initiative of the Quantum Science Center hosted at Purdue May 8-12, 2022.

"We are in the nascent stages of this second quantum revolution, and the technologies that will revolutionize the field are still being realized. We need academic researchers willing to push boundaries in order to make innovative breakthroughs." David Stewart

Mary Grush: Where are we with quantum computing today? Are we in a new quantum computing revolution? What kind of timeline might we see for the growth of widely available quantum computing resources?

David Stewart: Quantum computing is advancing rapidly. For example, the number of qubits, which are quantum analogs to classical bits, in quantum machines has increased by more than an order of magnitude in the past decade. Additionally, several organizations have shown "quantum supremacy" where they have solved problems that would overwhelm a classical computer.

We are certainly in a quantum computing revolution. Quantum computing resources are actually already widely available as access is provided by a number of companies. However, due to size of the machines and operating conditions such as extreme low temperatures, we are still many years from quantum computers coming to our homes.

Grush: How important is it for academic institutions to establish some kind of quantum computing footprint?

Stewart: It is vital for two main reasons. First, the quantum workforce is extremely shorthanded. Academic institutions are essential to grow this workforce to ensure we have the manpower to advance the field. And second, we are in the nascent stages of this second quantum revolution, and the technologies that will revolutionize the field are still being realized. We need academic researchers willing to push boundaries in order to make innovative breakthroughs.

Grush: What is the second annual Quantum Summer School and can you tell us about some of its goals, content, and speakers?

Stewart: The Quantum Summer School is a part of the workforce development efforts of the Quantum Science Center (QSC). Purdue University leads these efforts under the direction of Professor Alexandra Boltasseva. The goal is to provide students and postdoctoral researchers a unique, world-class educational experience in our mission to grow the quantum workforce. This exciting event will feature lectures from world-leading experts from industry, academia, and national labs, interactive panel discussions, hands-on training sessions from QSC-affiliated companies, student poster sessions, and communication and presentation training. It will also provide networking opportunities for students and postdoctoral researchers.

Grush: Is quantum computing maturing as an academic discipline? Is it primarily in physics and computer engineering now? Could we soon see quantum computing as an essential part of the computer science curriculum?

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Quantum Summer School Is Just Around the Corner - Campus Technology