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This is one in a series of profiles showcasing some of Harvards stellar graduates.

I am very interested in other peoples stories, said Sukin Hannah Sim. She loves to read historical fiction (recently, Pachinko), almost majored in history (a subject built on stories), and dove into quantum computing after reading a magazine article about the mysterious new field.

Even when Im 60 or 70, Ill only have learned a very little percentage of what there is in life and the universe, Sim said.Theres so much that I dont know, but thats also whats beautiful, right?

Sim, who earned her Ph.D. in chemical physics from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, chose a field rife with the unknown. She develops algorithms and writes software, the complex computational stories that dictate how quantum computers tackle problems such as how to design more secure encryption or bespoke molecules faster than any classical computer.

But in a field full of mystery, Sim is wary of quantum computer scientists hoarding information in their heads or releasing it to only a limited audience. So, while she writes pivotal algorithms, she also pens articles for the public, sharing her knowledge through open-source software codes, podcasts, and YouTube, and mentoring high school students to make sure the next generation of thinkers can continue writing the quantum story where she and others leave off.

Otherwise, Sim said, the knowledge is stuck with you.

Growing up in South Korea, Sim spent more time exploring than reading assigned books or finishing homework. She especially loved building with Lego blocks the origin, she said, of her curiosity about science and complex construction.

Then, when Sim was 8 years old, she and her family moved to Acton, a suburb of Massachusetts, and built a life far from any extended family. Bonded through their shared immigrant experience (Sim often acted as a translator for her mother, who spoke little English), the family grew even closer. (Today, the Sims pandemic pastime is exploring western Massachusetts trails with their little chiweenie named Louie).

By high school, Sim was already attracted to science, especially the relatively new mashup of chemistry and computer science called computational chemistry. As an undergraduate at Wellesley College, she nearly chose to major in history but was more attracted to another kind of power, one that exerts an invisible influence over absolutely everything on Earth: quantum mechanics.

In 2015, during her senior year at Wellesley, Sim heard Aln Aspuru-Guzik, then a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard, give a talk about his work in quantum computing and machine learning. Sim gushed over his research and, when Aspuru-Guzik invited her to join a lab meeting, she jumped at the opportunity. Later that fall, she joined Harvard and his team.

The transition wasnt easy. Imposter syndrome nagged Sim and, even a year and a half ago, graduation seemed like a hazy hope. But Aspuru-Guzik helped: He told her stories from when he, too, felt like an imposter. She realized that sharing her story with family, friends, her mentor and listening to their stories was critical. Her Ph.D., she said, taught her to prioritize her life.

Science is important but, at the end of the day, so is mental health, Sim said.

In the Aspuru-Guzik lab, Sim worked with another mentor, postdoctoral scholar Peter Johnson, to build a mathematical method to describe particular types of so-called quantum circuits, a set of instructions to manipulate qubits, the basic unit of information in a quantum computer. Johnson, a mathematical physicist, taught Sim the math needed to create their method, and together they published a seminal paper on their findings.

Someone like Peter, for me, was a huge help, Sim said. Now, she hopes to continue what she sees as a flow of mentorship, by guiding those behind her, especially those underrepresented in STEM fields. Recently, she mentored two high school girls who already see quantum mechanics in their future. Shes also had female undergraduate and graduate students in STEM reach out to her for advice. I dont have all the answers, she admits to them; instead, her goal is to make sure they feel like this is a choice that they have; they can enter this field. Theyre qualified.

In mid-April, right after graduating, Sim joined Zapata Computing, a startup founded by a team including two of her mentors, Aspuru-Guzik and Johnson. As a research scientist, shell continue to work on improving algorithms for early stage quantum computers and she hopes to one day help deliver quantum computers their quantum advantage, the pivotal moment when quantum computers will eclipse the classical in both speed and accuracy for certain tasks.

But to get there, Sim said, You need a quantum computer with tens of thousands or even millions of quantum bits (or qubits). Today, one of the best computers has on the order of 100 qubits. In the meantime, she plans to work to get the most of out of current noisy quantum computers. This could still be useful in accelerating the design of new chemicals, materials, and drugs.

Even quantum scientists dont fully understand quantum mechanics yet, which makes translation all the more difficult. Encouraged by Aspuru-Guzik, Sim has worked hard to spread the quantum story: She participated in a TalkPython podcast, shared her quantum origin story in a YouTube series called SuperPosition, and posted an article on Medium to discuss variational quantum algorithms with the general public.

At home, she can talk some shop with her father, who designs computer processors (for classical computers), and her younger sister, a computer scientist.

Scientists have this reputation of overwhelming conversations with formulas and equations and everyones like, OK, youre smart. I get that, Sim said. I want to help break that stereotype. Science is like history. And like any good historian, Sim knows how to tell a good story.

See the article here:
New Ph.D. wants the next generation to pick up the quantum story - Harvard Gazette

The CEOs of Americas biggest banks and financial institutionsBank of America BAC , Citigroup C , J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs GS , Morgan Stanley MS , and Wells Fargo WFC are getting a grilling today up on Capitol Hill.Theyll be asked about why theyve made so much money during COVID; and why they arent loaning out more money to help us recover from COVID; as well as getting the usual questions powerful bankers draw from our politicians, both Republicans and Democrats.

But theres one question they should be asked, but wont be: what are they doing to protect their assets and Americas financial industry against future quantum attack?Because getting the big banks to lead the charge in getting America quantum ready is as much a matter of social responsibility as promoting racial equity; and as fundamental to our national security as it is a matter of their bottom lines.

The Colonial Pipeline debacle has revealed how vulnerable our infrastructure is to cyberattack, including a future quantum computer attack.My last column revealed how important it is to use quantum and post-quantum solutions to protect our cyber vulnerabilities, now and in the future.This is even more true of our financial infrastructure, including our leading financial markets, our global payments system, and the Federal Reserve system itself.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 11: The New York Stock Exchange stands in lower Manhattan after global ... [+] stocks fell as concerns mount that rising inflation will prompt central banks to tighten monetary policy on May 11, 2021 in New York City. By mid afternoon the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had lost 0.6% after falling 2.2% at its session low. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Our preliminary econometric research at the Hudson Institutes Quantum Alliance Initiative indicates that the cost of a quantum computer attack on our financial system would be catastrophicfar more than a successful conventional cyberattack.In February authors Welburn and Strong of the RAND Corporation applied a standard Input-Output (I-O) model to conclude that cyber-attack disrupting JP Morgan Chases business operations for a single day would result in over $3.5 Billion in total losses for the American economy.

Unfortunately, that model ignored the network contagion effects within the financial sector.We estimate that a single quantum attack on one of the five largest financial institutions in the U.S. that disrupts their access to the Fedwire Funds Service payment system would cause a cascading financial failure costing anywhere from $730 Billion to $1.95 Trillion.Indeed, a quantum computer attack could impair nearly 60% of total assets in the banking system due to bank runs and endogenous liquidity traps.

We know from conversations with Treasury Department officials that banks and the Fed work closely with the federal government and Treasury on cybersecurity issues.But despite warnings from the last Office of Financial Research report on the quantum risk to financial stability, theres still a big hole when it comes to confronting the quantum threat.In fact, the big banks interest in quantum computers tends to revolve around how those computers amazing capabilities will be to serve customers and analyze market trends and risks.Thus far only J.P. Morgan and VISA V seem to be thinking about the day when a powerful quantum computer can break the most widespread cryptographic methods currently used in cybersecurity. The fact is, the leadership of all the big banks will be crucial for protecting our economy from a quantum-induced financial meltdown, or worse.

Therefore, its time to propose that the banks join together to create a Quantum Task Force made up of the countrys largest financial institutions, to promote quantum and post-quantum solutions to cyberattacks not just for themselves but throughout the financial system. Recent research from the New York Fed reveals that a cyberattack just one vulnerable mid-sized bank (less than $10 billion in assets, or less than five percent the size of Goldman Sachs) can bring down the whole system. Our preliminary study here at the Hudson Institutes Quantum Alliance Initiative indicates that the result would be catastrophic.

Offsetting a risk of this magnitude should be a national, as well as industry, imperative.Its a problem that wont wait until 2024 when NIST is expected to begin the roll out of its post-quantum cryptography standards. The array of tools currently available, from quantum-resistant algorithms and double encryption to quantum key distribution for the most vital corporate communications, can protect institutions today and tomorrow, against a quantum attack or the conventional threats that are already lurking out there.

It will no longer suffice to claim that the quantum threat is far off out on the horizonten years or morethat we dont have to worry about it before the next shareholders meeting. As my next column will show, the threat may be coming sooner than the experts have predicted.

Fortunately, our biggest financial institutions have the know-how, the resources, and the self-interest to lead us all into the post-quantum era.It is no exaggeration to say that none of us will be truly safe, until they are.

Originally posted here:
Getting The Big Banks To Confront The Quantum Challenge - Forbes

Great leaps are already being made in creating a super secure quantum internet. It could overturn the role of information in our lives and give us a globe-spanning quantum supercomputer

By Stephen Battersby

Ollie Hirst

MANY of us have uploaded our lives to the internet. Banking, work emails, social media, dating profiles, medical records all that vital, sensitive information. So it is a little disconcerting that the internet has a fatal security flaw. Dont panic; our private information is safe for now. But before very long the encryption algorithms that protect us online are going to crack.

That is the urgent driving force behind a new, more secure kind of internet that harnesses the power of the quantum realm. Once up and running, the system will be able to do a lot more than protect our data. It could bring us unforeseen quantum apps, and maybe become the scaffold for a world-spanning quantum computer of incredible power.

Building the quantum internet is a huge and multi-faceted engineering challenge, but the foundations are already being laid. Networks of fibres are spreading. Scientists are chatting in secret on local networks. There are even plans to use tiny satellites to enable long-distance quantum connections. Sooner or later, we could all be joining the quantum information superhighway.

Human culture and industry have long been based on information. If you could get the right kind of information, understand it and share it, you could gain power and profit. The rise of the internet as we know it cemented the role of information and we are only beginning to feel its profound effects. Now we are at the threshold of a new information age, which could change things all over again.

Conventional, classical computers deal in digital units called bits. This is the amount of information in the outcome

Read more:
Quantum internet: The race is on to build an unhackable online world - New Scientist

COLLEGE PARK Over the past few decades, quantum computing has developed from what many considered a science-fiction fantasy into what could be the next technological revolution. One local company, College Park-based IonQ Inc., could play a key role.

In what some are calling the quantum space race, governments around the globe are funding quantum computing research in an effort to become the worlds leading innovator. China spends about $2.5 billion on quantum research annually, more than 10 times what the U.S. spends, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The quantum competition, reminiscent of the U.S.-Soviet era Sputnik space race, is expected to heat up under the Biden Administration, which plans to commit $180 billion to research and development and industries of the future, including quantum computing. That spending could provide a boost for IonQ, which was founded just six years ago.

Both Congress and the president have made clear they plan to invest in the research, technology and talent needed to keep the United States in the global vanguard of innovation, said Kara Sibbern, a IonQ spokesperson. At IonQ, we will be working with policymakers to support this effort however we can.

But whether new companies such as IonQ can compete in the brave new world of quantum computing is unclear. IonQ will be up against many U.S. and international companies, including heavy hitters like Google, Microsoft and IBM Corp.

Investors on Wall Street are closely watching the young company. In March, IonQ filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with dMY Technology Group Inc. III, a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, based in Nevada. The deal is valued at about $2 billion. If the SEC approves the transaction, IonQ would be the first company in the U.S. focused specifically on quantum computing to go public.

Like many other companies that use SPACs to raise capital, IonQ is hoping that merging with an acquisition company will allow it to raise capital faster than by using a traditional initial public offering. Merging with dMY affords us greater speed to market, flexibility and ability to focus on business execution, said Sibbern. The deal is expected to be completed this year, but the company couldnt provide an exact date.

The stock offering marks a huge step for a computing technology that not long ago was widely thought to have little promise beyond the theoretical.

Quantum computers use the power of quantum physics to quickly solve problems and perform tasks faster than a conventional computer. The technology could speed up calculations related to finance, drug development, materials discovery, artificial intelligence and others.

Quantum computers function differently from conventional computers, which accounts for their speed. Conventional computers use a large number of tiny transistors, which represent information as either a 1 or a 0. Quantum computers differ in that they use qubits, which can represent and work with both numbers simultaneously. This is due to whats known as superpositioning.

To understand the principle of quantum superpositioning, it is often compared to a coin. Think of a single, stationary coin sitting on a table. It will be in only one of two states: heads or tails. Similarly, a transistor can only be either 0 or 1. But if you spin the coin, you can say its both heads and tails at the same time until the moment you stop it and see what it lands on. This is like a qubit. Until you measure it as a 0 or 1, it can exist in several different states at the same time.

So far, quantum computing is still in the research phase, far from widespread commercial use. IBM unveiled its first commercial quantum computer in 2019, IBM Q System One, but the device is not for sale. Rather, its a cloud-based product that customers can access over the internet to perform calculations.

However, executives at IonQ and other companies believe the industry is close to developing scalable products that can serve business needs.

We believe quantum computing will power the next technological revolution for humankind and that the dawn of the quantum age is here, said Chris Monroe, who co-founded IonQ and serves as the companys chief scientist. Like the information age, quantum is expected to have far-reaching impacts across every facet of our society.

According to Monroe, any corporation with an optimization problem can yield results from quantum computing. Were seeing exciting advances in artificial intelligence by applying quantum to machine learning, which can lead to even greater results, he said.

Important hurdles still exist for quantum. Eddy Zervigon, CEO of Quantum Xchange, a quantum-focused cybersecurity company in Bethesda said that while quantum computers can potentially lead to significant advancements, their speed and power could make it easier for hackers to break into the systems because current encryption methods wont be able to keep up.

This critical point in quantum computing is known as Q-Day, or the day in which quantum computers can render current encryption methods useless. No one is questioning if, but when this day will come, said Zervigon. Quantum Xchange, recently named one of the 20 most promising startups by Technical.ly DC, is dedicated to preparing companies and organizations for Q-Day by offering quantum-safe data protection.

IonQ was founded in 2015 by Monroe and Jungsang Kim. Both are professors in electrical engineering and computer engineering at Duke University in North Carolina. Both have also taught at the University of Maryland and are currently visiting professors in Marylands Physics Department.

The two previously spent more than two decades combined researching quantum physics and engineering. Monroe and Kim would later combine their efforts to publish a scientific paper, Scaling the Ion Trap Quantum Processor, which was published in 2013, and detailed how to build and scale a programmable quantum computer. The paper was noticed by Harry Weller, a venture capitalist with the Maryland-based New Enterprise Association, which provided IonQ with $2 million in seed money.

Between 2015 and 2018, IonQ raised an additional $20 million in funding from Google Ventures, Amazon Web Services and NEA. IonQ would later raise more than $55 million from investors such as Samsung Group, Lockheed Martin Corp. and others.

If IonQ succeeds, it could foster growth of other quantum computing and related companies in Maryland and the Washington area and drive billions of dollars of economic improvement over the next decade in the region, said Monroe.

He added that the University of Marylands support is contributing to the industrys growth. In 2020, IonQ opened a new Quantum Data Center, a 23,000-square-foot center in Marylands Discovery District. The site was made possible in part due to a $5.5 million investment from the university.

Charles Winthrop Clark, a fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Joint Quantum Institute, offered a more measured but still optimistic view of quantum computings potential in the region. He notes that while a quantum industry wont do for the Washington metro region what the digital revolution did for Silicon Valley, there will be a lively quantum ecosystem in the DMV.

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Big bang theory: Maryland company moves ahead in quantum space race - The Star Democrat

Christian Weedbrook, founder of the quantum technologies company, Xanadu, listens in as Varun Vaidya, left, discusses the working principle of one of the building blocks of quantum computers, at their office in Toronto on June 20, 2019.

Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail

Toronto startup Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc. has raised US$100-million led by U.S. venture capital giant Bessemer Venture Partners as competition intensifies to bring quantum computers to market.

The financing, first reported by The Globe and Mail this month, is also backed by Canadian billionaire Jeff Skolls Capricorn Investment Group and U.S. investment giant Tiger Global and past investors Georgian, OMERS Ventures and U.S. venture capitalist Tim Draper. The funding values Xanadu at US$400-million post-transaction.

Notably, BDC Capital and In-Q-Tel, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agencys venture arm, also backed the deal. Both have invested in Burnaby, B.C.-based D-Wave Systems, which sold the first commercially available quantum machines. Despite 20 years of development and US$300-million of funds raised, D-Wave has struggled to commercialize its technology; last year it stopped efforts to sell hardware to focus on offering online access to its machines and completed a refinancing that wiped out most of the value of some investors.

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D-Waves technology is Quantum 1.0 and the rest of us are Quantum 2.0, Xanadu chief executive Christian Weedbrook said in an interview. I think there has been somewhat of a passing of the torch.

With the financing, Xanadu cements its status as one of the leading upstart companies in the global race to develop the worlds most powerful computers by harnessing the power of subatomic particles to perform calculations that would take current supercomputers millenniums to run. Industry players believe quantum computers could eventually offer powerful new ways to help with drug discovery, materials science, financial risk modelling and other applications.

Xanadu, alongside U.S. startups PsiQuantum Ltd., IonQ Inc. and Honeywell International Inc., are bringing newer approaches to a field that also includes global giants Microsoft, Google, Intel and IBM.

D-Wave and many rivals, including IBM, are developing machines that contain quantum chips that must be cooled to temperatures colder than deep space to function.

Xanadu and PsiQuantum are trying to draw their computing power from light. Xanadu uses a process called squeezing light by firing lasers that enable light particles to generate quantum effects on thumbnail-sized chips. IonQ and Honeywell, by contrast, are developing trapped ion technology that would draw power by creating charged ions from a rare-earth metal.

Xanadus method, based on Mr. Weedbrooks PhD thesis at Australias University of Queensland, happens at room temperature, and he believes with further development he can cut out supercooling, which is still required for a part of the process, altogether.

Without supercooling an elaborate undertaking Mr. Weedbrook says Xanadu can develop machines quicker and cheaper than other quantum computers and eventually shrink its chips enough that they could fit in small devices. By contrast, D-Waves computers are housed in shed-sized boxes.

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Mr. Weedbrook said Xanadu has managed to increase the number of qubits which replace the 1 and 0 bits of conventional computing and can simultaneously hold a mix of values and interact with each other in complex ways tenfold to 40 per chip in the past two years. He said Xanadus goal is to increase the number of qubits used to power its computers to one million. Thats where you can start solving a customers problems and start making an impact, he said.

The company wouldnt do that on a single chip, but by networking together many chips through fibre optics within new quantum data centres Xanadu hopes to eventually build. As with cloud computing, users would be able to access the technology over the internet to do their complex calculations. By distributing computing power across many chips, Mr. Weedbroook believes the company can correct for errors generated by the quantum computing process that experts have long identified as a major hurdle for developers.

Quantum computing is still early in its development. Some skeptics believe it will take many years and billions of dollars to develop functional, commercially successful machines that live up to their hype. If [Xanadus] invention becomes a reality, its the most important company in the country, Michael Hyatt, a Toronto tech entrepreneur and Xanadu investor, said.

For now, Xanadu is offering a handful of clients online access to its early machines and has created open-source software tools for developers to work with quantum computers. It is also designing and selling quantum computing hardware to universities, government labs and corporate customers to help fund its development. Mr. Weedbrook estimated the company was five years away from reaching a significant commercial scale. Our investors know [our technology] can really change the world and they take a long-term view.

Bessemer partner David Cowan, whose firm has also backed quantum computing startup Rigetti Computing, said in a statement, Xanadu impressed us as the leading contender to develop the first commercially valuable, photonic quantum computer. BVP is betting that in this decade quantum computers like Xanadus will make the conventional supercomputer look like an antiquated abacus.

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Read more here:
'Passing of torch' in quantum computing race as Toronto's Xanadu raises $100-million from Bessemer, CIA, Jeff Skoll - The Globe and Mail