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If you think the 21st century has brought enough opportunities to women in technology, it is still an uncertain thought that needs verification. The modern era of technology has changed the world upside down. The emerging trends are slowly placing women equally to men at all positions in the tech radar. But what feels off is where women stand in therevolution of quantum computers.

Computers have evolved on a large scale in recent decades. Initially, computers filled a whole building and costed a fortune. But today, they are minimized to a small size and featured with advanced technologies where people carry them every day. Thequantum growthhas given birth to ideas like quantum computer and quantum internet. Unlike many disruptive technologies, quantum computing is something that can change the base of our computing system. Even though a fully established quantum computer is still under process, the industry is remarkably being male dominant at some stance. While countries run the race to reach the quantum success, they often leave women behind. And the worst case is that most of us dont notice the discrimination quantum computing is bringing into the tech sector. In order to know better about quantum computing and womens position in technology, let us go through the history and some of the important global quantum initiatives.

Quantum computeris a device that employs properties described by quantum mechanics to enhance computations. Quantum computers are anticipated to spur the development of breakthrough in science, medications to save lives, machine learning methods to diagnose illnesses sooner, materials to make more efficient devices and structures, financial strategies to live well in retirement, and algorithms to quickly direct resources such as ambulances. In a nutshell, quantum computing could ease critical jobs for good. While classical computers are based on bits, quantum computers are based on quantum bits, called qubits. Qubits are physically derived from small quantum objects such as electron or photon, where a pure quantum mechanical state such as spin indicates the ones and zeros.

Thespark of quantum computingwas struck by Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman in 1959. He noted that as electronic components begin to reach microscopic scales, effects predicted by quantum mechanics might be exploited in the design of more powerful computers. The simple speculation turned out to be a theory during the 1980s and 90s and advanced beyond Feynmams words. In 1985, David Deutsch of the University of Oxford described the construction of quantum logic gates for a universal quantum computer. Peter Shor of AT&T devised an algorithm to factor numbers with quantum computers that would require fewer qubits. Later in 1998, Isaac Chuang of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Neil Gershenfeld of the Massachusetts Insititute of Technology (MIT) and Mark Kubinec of the University of California at Berkeley created the first quantum computer that could be loaded with data and output a solution. Almost twenty years later, IBM presented the first commercially usable quantum computer in 2017.

Quantum technologieshave been getting exponential investments in the last few years. The global efforts to boost the quantum mechanism have emerged as a main area of funding. By 2025, the global quantum market is expected to reach US$948.82 million. Quantum computing will give a substantial military and economic advantage to whichever countries come out on top in this global competition.

In 2018, under former President Donald J. Trumps administration, a bipartisan law called National Quantum Initiative Act was passed. According to the law, US$1.2 billion will be spent on the development of quantum information processing over the course of a decade. European countries are also taking steps to stabilize their quantum future. In 2016, 3,400 significant people form science, research and corporate world signed the Quantum Manifesto to call upon the European Commission and the Member States to formulate a joint strategy designed to ensure that the continent remains at the forefront of the second quantum revolution. Two years past the initiative, European Commission launched a Quantum Technologies Flagship program to support hundreds of quantum science researchers.

China is being ambitious in becoming a frontrunner in the quantum revolution. Under Chinese President Xi Jinpings rule, the countrys scientists and engineers are enjoying access to nearly unlimited resources in their development of quantum science and technology. In 2016, China has launched the worlds first quantum satellite as a test platform for quantum communications links between space and earth.

Physics, computer science and engineering are thebasement of quantum computing. The problem starts from the very baseline because only 20% of degree recipients are identified as women for the last decade. Even women who survive the lone time at universities face an existential crisis on daily life as a person involved in quantum initiatives. They are often dismissed and walked over by their male peers. A research conducted by a group of five female scientists has concluded thatwomen who receive an A gradein a physics course have the same self-efficacy about their own performance as men who earn a C grade. The research further unravels thatwomen have a lower sense of belongingand they feel less recognized by their physics instructors as people who can excel in physics.

However, the world can still build an inclusive future for women by taking certain initiatives. Primarily, women need to be recognized in the science and engineering disciplines. Insufficient encouragement in the education level is a threat to women willingness. Instructors and research advisors should cheer female students to perform better and give them more opportunities. Organizations should also develop a culture that treats women and their ideas equally to their male counterparts.

Continued here:
Establishing a Women Inclusive Future in Quantum Computing - Analytics Insight

Over the next few years the tech industry has a roadmap to overcome the challenges facing quantum computing. This will pave the way to growth in mainstream quantum computing to solve hard problems.

There are numerous opportunities, from finding a cure for cancer to the development of new, more sustainable materials and tackling climate change. But a recent short film on quantum ethics has highlighted the risks, which may be as profound as the Manhattan Project that led to two atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

One interviewee featured in the film, Ilana Wisby, CEO, Oxford Quantum Circuits said: We wont fully understand the impact of what we have until we have got the systems, but it will be revolutionising and will be lucrative for some.

The experts discussed the need for a debate across society to assess and appreciate the risk quantum computing will pose. Ilyas Khan, CEO Cambridge Quantum Computing said: We may be able to shift the boundaries of what can and cannot be done with machines.

Faye Wattleton, co-found EeroQ Quantum urged the innovators and policy makers to take a step back to consider the implications and its impact on humanity. If we can do in a few minutes what it would take 10,000 years to do with current technology then that requires careful consideration. From a societal perspective, what does this kind of power mean?

Just because a quantum computer makes it possible to solve an insoluble problem, does not mean it should be solved.

In the past, there was oversight and governance of technological breakthroughs like the printing press, which paved the way to mass media and the railways, which led to mass transit. But IT has become arrogant. Its proponents say that it moves far too quickly to be restrained by a regulatory framework. As an expert at a recent House of Lords Select Committee meeting warned, policy-makers are not very good at looking ahead at the long term impact of a new technological development. In the 1990s, who would have considered that the growth of the internet, social media and mobile phones would be a stimulant for fake news and a catalyst for rogue states to influence elections in other countries.

Khan describes the lack of controls on the internet like being asleep at the wheel. What are the implications of a quantum computing society? Perhaps, as Khan, says, society need to anticipate these issues, instead of being asleep at the wheel again.

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The risk of giving in to quantum progress - ComputerWeekly.com

CONNIE ZHOU

It's fitting that one of the coolest quantum computing projects going has an equally cool name.Goldeneyeis IBM's internal codename for the world's largest dilution refrigerator, which will house a future 1,000,000 qubit quantum processor.

In September 2020, IBM debuted a detailed roadmap about how it will scale its quantum technology in the next three years to reach the true quantum industry inflection point of Quantum Advantage -- the point at which quantum systems will be more powerful than today's conventional computing.

But there's a catch: You can't do anything in quantum without incredibly low temperatures.

To reach this 'moon landing' moment, the IBM team developed the largest dilution refrigerator, which will house a future 1,000,000 qubit system. Work is underway to reach the goal of quantum computer capable of surpassing conventional machines by 2023, and this 10-foot-tall and 6-foot-wide "super-fridge" is a key ingredient, capable of reaching temperatures of 15 millikelvin, which is colder than outer space. The fridge gets so cold it takes between 5 and 14 days to cool down.

I caught up withJerry Chow, Director of Quantum Hardware System Development for IBM, to learn about the Herculean project and to find out what's next for IBM's quantum computing ambitions.

Let's start with the basics: Why is a super-fridge necessary for useful quantum computing and what advances in the last decade or so have aided that effort?

Superconducting qubits need to be cooled down to between 10-15 millikelvin for their quantum behavior to emerge. They need to be kept that cold to ensure that their performance is high. Dilution refrigeration technology, which has been around for a really long time, is an enabling technology specifically for superconducting qubits for quantum computing. Whereas a different type of qubit might require its own unique set of hardware and infrastructure.

Around 2010, cryogen-free dilution refrigerators became en vogue. These didn't require transferring and refilling liquid cryogenic helium every other day to keep these refrigerators cold. In fact, my PhD at Yale was completed entirely at the time when we were still experimenting on what we call "wet" dilution refrigerators. However, around 2010, the whole world started switching over to these reliable cryogen-free "dry" dilution refrigerators which suddenly allowed for experiments with superconducting qubits to be done for a lot longer periods of time with no interruption.

How did the Goldeneye project first took shape? And what were the biggest perceived technical challenges early on?

The very first thought of building something at that scale came from my colleaguePat Gumannwhile brainstorming long-term, 'crazy' ideas in my office in November of 2018. At that time, our team was tasked with deploying our first 53-qubit quantum computer in the IBM Quantum Computation Center in Poughkeepsie, NY, a challenge which pushed a few limits in what we could place into a single cryogenic refrigerator at the time. While working on it, it also really made us start thinking beyond, and almost instantly that we will need much larger cryogenic support system to ever cool down between 1,000 to 1 million qubits. This was simply due to the sheer volume required to host, not only all the qubits, but also all of the auxiliary, cryogenic, microwave electronics cables, filters, attenuators, isolators, amplifiers, etc.

It became very apparent that a new way of thinking in terms of the design would be needed and we started coming up with different form factors for how to effectively construct and cool down a behemoth such as the super-fridge. Some of the challenges we had were purely infrastructural such as how were we going to find a space in the building big enough to start this project and where would we find the capabilities to work with really large pieces of metal.

And as the rubber started to meet the road what have turned out to be the biggest hurdles to creating a useful quantum computer, and what does that say about the trajectory of the technology?

Some of the most challenging hurdles to overcome includes improving the quality of the underlying qubits, which includes improving the underlying coherence times (the amount of time that qubits stay in a superposition state), the achievable two-qubit gate fidelities, and reducing crosstalk between qubits as we scale up.

For that matter, most of these improvements feed into an overall quality measure for the performance of a quantum computer which we have defined called the Quantum Volume. Having a measure such as Quantum Volume allows us to really show progression along a roadmap of improvements, and we have been demonstrating this scaling of Quantum Volume year over year as we make new systems better and better.

The higher the Quantum Volume, the more real-world, complex problems quantum computers can potentially solve. A variety of factors determine Quantum Volume, including the number of qubits, connectivity, and coherence time, plus accounting for gate and measurement errors, device cross talk, and circuit software compiler efficiency.

Where is IBM right now with regards to Goldeneye? What can we expect in the near future?

Our "Goldeneye" super-fridge is very much an ongoing project, which is on target for completion in 2023. It is just one critical part of our long-term roadmap for scaling quantum technology. As we continue to execute on the roadmap we announced in September, we're pleased to share that we achieved aQuantum Volume of 128in November and we're working towards improving the quality of our underlying systems in order to debut our127-qubit IBM Quantum Eagle processorlater this year.

In the near future, we're poised to make exciting developments with our entire technology stack, including software and control systems. At IBM, we're working toward a complete set of broad innovations and breakthroughs.

What will quantum computing mean for the world in the long run? How will be a game changer?

Quantum computing will vastly broaden the types of problems we will address, and the technology offers a new form of computation that we expect to work in a frictionless fashion with today's classical computers. From the chemistry of new materials, and the optimization of everything from vehicle routing to financial portfolios, to improving machine learning, quantum will be an integral part of the future of computing and we're proud to be laying the foundation for a future of discovery.

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IBM's Goldeneye: Behind the scenes at the world's largest dilution refrigerator - ZDNet

NTT Research has announced a collaboration with Caltech to develop the worlds fastest Coherent Ising Machine (CIM). This relates to a quantum-oriented computing approach that uses special-purpose processors to solve extremely complex combinatorial optimization problems. CIMs are advanced devices that constitute a promising approach to solving optimization problems by mapping them to ground state searches. The primary application of the computing method is drug discovery. Developing new drugs is of importance, including the current fight against COVID-19. Drug discovery is a commonly cited combinatorial optimization problem. The search for effective drugs involves an enormous number of potential matches between medically appropriate molecules and target proteins that are responsible for a specific disease. Conventional computers are used to replicate chemical interactions in the medical space and other areas of life and chemical sciences. To really move forwards, quantum technology is required to take developments beyond trial and error to rapidly tackle the sheer volume of total possible combinations.Other applications of the technology include:LogisticsOne classic problem is that of the traveling salesman (a common logic problem) identifying the shortest possible route that visits each of n number of cities, while returning to the city of origin. This problem and its variants appear in contemporary form in logistical challenges, such as daily automotive traffic patterns. The advantage of using a quantum information system is speed. Machine LearningA CIM is also a good match for some types of machine learning, including image and speech recognition. Artificial neural networks learn by iteratively processing examples containing known inputs and results. CIMs can speed up the training and improve upon the accuracy of existing neural networks.The development of the new computer system has been pioneered by Kazuhiro Gomi, CEO of NTT Research, and Dr. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, Director of NTT Researchs Physics & Informatics (PHI) Lab, who is overseeing this research. This is a step forwards in CIM optimization problems by uniting perspectives from statistics, computer science, statistical physics and quantum optics.

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Caltech and NTT developing the world's fastest quantum computer - Digital Journal

Jan. 21, 2021 Today, the University of Glasgow, a pioneering institution in quantum technology development and home of the Quantum Circuits Group, announced its using Oxford Instruments next generation Cryofree refrigerator, Proteox, as part of its research to accelerate the commercialisation of quantum computing in the UK.

Were excited to be using Proteox, the latest in cryogen-free refrigeration technology, and to have the system up and running in our lab, comments Professor Martin Weides, Head of the Quantum Circuits Group. Oxford Instruments is a long-term strategic partner and todays announcement highlights the importance of our close collaboration to the future of quantum computing development. Proteox is designed with quantum scale-up in mind, and through the use of its Secondary Insert technology, were able to easily characterise and develop integrated chips and components for quantum computing applications.

The University of Glasgow, its subsidiary and commercialisation partner, Kelvin Nanotechnology, and Oxford Instruments NanoScience are part of a larger consortium supported by funding from Innovate UK, the UKs innovation agency, granted in April 2020. The consortium partners will boost quantum technology development by the design, manufacture, and test of superconducting quantum devices.

Todays announcement demonstrates the major contribution Oxford Instruments is making towards pioneering quantum technology work in the UK, states Stuart Woods, Managing Director of Oxford Instruments NanoScience. With our 60 years of experience of in-house component production and global service support, we are accelerating the commercialisation of quantum to discover whats next supporting our customers across the world.

Proteox is a next-generation Cryofree system that provides a step change in modularity and adaptability for ultra-low temperature experiments in condensed-matter physics and quantum computing industrialisation. The Proteox platform has been developed to provide a single, interchangeable modular solution that can support multiple users and a variety of set-ups or experiments. It also includes remote management software which is integral to the system design, enabling, for example, the system to be managed from anywhere in the world. To find out more, visit nanoscience.oxinst.com/proteox.

About Oxford Instruments NanoScience

Oxford Instruments NanoScience designs, supplies and supports market-leading research tools that enable quantum technologies, new materials and device development in the physical sciences. Our tools support research down to the atomic scale through creation of high performance, cryogen-free low temperature and magnetic environments, based upon our core technologies in low and ultra-low temperatures, high magnetic fields and system integration, with ever-increasing levels of experimental and measurement readiness.Oxford Instruments NanoScience is a part of the Oxford Instruments plc group.

Glasgows Quantum Circuit Group is found here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/engineering/research/divisions/ene/researchthemes/micronanotechnology/quantumcircuits/

Source: University of Glasgow

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University of Glasgow Partners with Oxford Instruments NanoScience on Quantum Computing - HPCwire