Café des Sciences: Qubits and Entanglement

In late September 2019 news spread that Google in collaboration with NASA had reached a historical breakthrough in computer science. Following leaked information posted on the NASA website, Googles quantum computer Sycamore has achieved quantum supremacy, which means that it has performed a task, which a conventional super computer could not execute.

For many researcher, quantum computers’ significance is no less than a revolution in computer science. The technology promises far reaching applications in various sectors such as the pharma sector, blockchain and cryptocurrencies as well as encryption. Scientists argue that quantum computing might overthrow computer systems as we know them today. Thus, research and development in this field is of crucial importance in 2020.

At University of Basel, a new, spearheading project is carried out recently on the development of a silicon-based quantum computer: Prof. Dr. Richard Warburton is the Lead Director at National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) SPIN, collaborating with researchers from IBM Research – Zurich, ETH Zurich, and EPFL to come up with reliable, fast, compact, scalable spin qubits in silicon. Likewise, Mr. Franck Franchin, the founder and president at Swiss Quantum Hub, is actively exploring ways to support quantum field startups and corporations to extend their reach into other industries.

Therefore, join us at this webinar to learn from Swiss quantum field experts Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton and Mr. Franck Franchin on the basics of quantum computing as well as its future global impact and applications.

Event Rundown

16:00 Webinar starts

16:00 – 16:05 Opening Remarks
(Cissy Sun – Head of Art-Science at Swissnex in China

Sandro Wirth – Junior Officer, Science Technology and Education Section at the Embassy of Switzerland in China

Gaetan Messin – Attaché for Science and Technology, Consulate General of France in Shanghai)

16:05 – 16:45 Presentation (20′ each speaker)
(Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton – Director of NCCR SPIN; Professor of Experimental Physics (Ordinarius), University of Basel

Mr. Franck Franchin – President of Swiss Quantum Hub)

16:45 – 17:00 Q&A Session

Speakers

Bio

Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton
Director of NCCR SPIN Project, Professor of Experimental Physics (Ordinarius), University of Basel
Richard studied at Oxford University for a BA in 1987 followed by an MA and D.Phil in 1991. From 1990-1993 Richard was a Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church, Oxford working in the Clarendon Laboratory. From 1993-1999 Richard worked at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich, Germany, initially as a von Humboldt Fellow, then as Marie Curie Fellow and finally as Assistant Professor. He was awarded the degree of Habilitation from the LMU in 2000. In 2000, Richard moved to Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh as Lecturer and was subsequently promoted to Reader in 2001 and Professor in 2005. From 2001-2006 Richard was an EPSRC Advanced Fellow. In 2009, Richard moved to the University of Basel, Physics Department, where he is a full Professor of Physics.
Bio

Mr. Franck Franchin
President of Swiss Quantum Hub
Franck Franchin is a Swiss-French expert in cybersecurity and information technology. He is passionate about new technologies like AI, IoT and Quantum Computing. In 2018, he has founded the Swiss Quantum Hub, a think tank about Quantum technologies with academics, labs, start-ups, corporates and VCs members. He is a serial entrepreneur in Cryptography (startup sold to Orange) and Digital Content. During his career, he also held senior management positions in innovation and cybersecurity at Thales, Vivendi and Orange. He graduated of a MBA from ESCP and a Master in Computer Science & AI from CentraleSupélec. He is the author of the Best Seller “Quantum Computing: Mastering in 60 minutes”.
Bio

Gaetan Messin
Attaché for Science and Technology, Consulate General of France in Shanghai
Gaetan Messin holds a PhD in Physics from University Paris 6. He did a Post-Doc in Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and another one at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in the field of Quantum Optics. In 2002, he became a professor at Institut d’Optique on Paris-Saclay Campus, where he has been driving research in the field of Quantum Physics during 14 years. In September 2016, he took the position of Attaché for Science and Technology at the Consulate General of France in Shanghai.

Organizations

National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCRs) are a funding scheme of the Swiss National Science Foundation. They promote long-term research networks in areas of strategic importance for Swiss science, the Swiss economy, and Swiss society. On the 16th of December 2019, the Federal Government and the Swiss National Science Foundation announced that “SPIN: Spin Qubits in Silicon” is one of six new NCCRs. For its first phase from 2020 to 2023, the NCCR SPIN will receive federal funding of CHF 17 million.

Initially, the main objective of NCCR SPIN is to develop reliable, fast, compact, scalable spin qubits in silicon. In the medium term, the results should make it possible to use spin qubits to perform calculations that would be difficult on a classical computer. The long-term goal, to which NCCR SPIN wants to make a fundamental contribution, is the creation of a universal quantum computer with more than a thousand logical qubits. Each logical qubit is based on a large number of spin qubits, allowing quantum error correction to be implemented.

The NCCR SPIN team consists of researchers from the University of Basel, IBM Research – Zurich, ETH Zurich, and EPF Lausanne. The team members are experts from various disciplines, such as quantum physics, materials science, engineering and computer science. In addition to the collaboration between academia and industry, the NCCR SPIN is characterized by very close links between theory and experiment. The “Leading House” is the University of Basel. Research in Basel will be pursued in the Department of Physics.

Swiss Quantum Hub (SQH) is a non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. Swiss Quantum Hub is a unique mix of a Think Tank, a Startup Accelerator and Business Services for the Swiss Quantum Computing Community. Its services include publications, events, startup accelerator, training, consulting, and networks.

Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton on Quantum Physics and NCCR SPIN

In Collaboration with