Quantum Computing is Quick and Quirky: A Closer Look

Though early in its development, quantum computing is now available on real hardware via the cloud through IBM Q. This radically new kind of computing holds open the possibility of solving some problems that are now and perhaps always will be intractable for classical computers. In this talk we'll discuss the motivation for quantum computing and the types of problems to which it might be applied. We'll continue by describing the no-charge IBM Q Experience where more than 90,000 people have used IBMs offerings to learn and experiment with quantum computing.

P.S. In the same evening, a public science lecture on astronomy is at 8pm and sky watching from a 0.8-meter (32-inch) telescope is at 9pm at the Olin Physical Sciences building (more details are here).

About the speaker:

Steve Atkin is CTO, Distinguished Engineer, and Quantum Ambassador at IBM Support Transformation, Training & Globalization. He earned his PhD in computer science at Florida Tech.

Previous community lectures

• Bitcoin and Blockchains: A Closer Look (2018)
• A Closer Look at Computing: The Million-Dollar Algorithms (2017)
• Cryptography: A Closer Look (2016)
• Internet and Security: A Closer Look (2015)
• Big Data: A Closer Look (2014)
• Apple's Siri: A Closer Look (2013)
• How Computing Changed the World (2012)