HKUST students should consider careers in quantum computing, expert says
After nearly three decades of searching for ways to build superfast computers that operate on the principles of quantum mechanics, the reality of a fully-fledged quantum computer is moving closer, says professor Andrew Yao Chi-chih, dean of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing.
“Quantum computing is no longer viewed as a fad, or a scientist’s pie in the sky,’’ Yao told an audience of students, faculty, and invited guests during his presentation at a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) 25th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series event on January 28. Yao also took the opportunity to explain his rationale for quantum computing to be recognised as a Great Science. “Great Science involves the intersection of different scientific disciplines to create new knowledge that allows the exploration of the previously unimaginable,’’ stressed Yao, adding that Great Science also lifts the human spirit.
Yao believes computers built on the principles of quantum physics could revolutionise the information processes used for a range of applications, including precision weather forecasting and replacement aircraft fuselage wind tunnel testing. He also pointed out that increasingly powerful computers are needed to solve fresh challenges.
Yao, who was born in Shanghai, and gained a PhD in physics from Harvard University and a PhD in computer science from the University of Illinois, added that advances in quantum computing are occurring at a time when Moore’s Law, which states the processing power for computers will double every two years, is being pushed to the limits by the demand for “big data’’ and ‘’super’’ computing processes. ‘’Every generation has its own unique problems which computer power is channeled towards solving,’’ said Yao. The professor said research has come a long way since the 1980s, when physicist Richard Feynman predicted that a computer which used the quantum properties of matter to perform calculations could function much faster than a traditional computer.
Renowned for his analysis of algorithms, computational complexity, cryptography, and quantum computing, Yao explained how quantum computing uses an entirely different approach to conventional computing. Instead of binary units or “bits’’ used in traditional computing, quantum computers operate by using quantum bits (“qubits”). These create a “quantum superposition” which gives them the capability to solve complex problems that would take today's computers decades to decipher. Yao revealed how diamonds are being used to create quantum bits.
“The design of quantum computers offers a daring approach to take advantage of quantum problems, instead of fighting them,” said Yao who is widely recognised as one of a distinguished group of mathematical scientists who can solve hard problems, as well as propose them. The professor is also credited with having ability to conceptualise novel ideas that have developed into a new field of mainstream study. His 1977 paper “Probabilistic computations: toward a unified measure of complexity” is now known as Yao’s minimax principle; it uses game theory to understand randomised algorithms. His recent work has focused on security protocols and universally composable secure computation.
Yao noted how mathematicians like David Hilbert, scientists like John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain, who brought the transistor to life, and British computer scientist Alan Turing had made important contributions to quantum computing research. “These were great scientists whose work led to a leap in the imagination,” Yao told the audience.
With government agencies, start-ups, academia, and tech giants like Google, IBM, and Microsoft looking for ways to produce universal quantum computers, Yao suggested HKUST students might consider working in quantum research as a career choice. “The potential is exciting for ambitious young scientists,’’ says Yao, the only Chinese scientist to be awarded the Turing Award, the most prestigious award in computer science which is considered by many as equivalent to a Nobel Prize. Yao has also received the George Polya Prize, awarded by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Donald E. Knuth prize for outstanding contributions to the foundations of computer science.
In a discussion with Professor Wei Shyy, executive vice-president and provost of HKUST, Yao said he expected Tsinghua University to make considerable progress towards a quantum computer during the next five years, due to the high standard of students working on quantum research projects. “It might be a little ambitious, but Tsinghua could be the first institution in China to produce a quantum computer,’’ said Yao.
Asked if a quantum computer exists, Yao said a device Canadian firm D-Wave claim to be a quantum computer has raised interest in the scientific and business world. “I think the D-Wave computer is a remarkable thing, and we might see something very exciting coming out of it we can learn from,’’ says Yao who also notes some of the initial opponents of quantum computing have said the results are believable. But Yao believes the computer, which Google purchased from D-Wave, would probably not receive funding and support in an academic setting.