1 - Dawn of a Quantum Era

05/05/21 • 39 min

Forwards & Backwards: A History of Quantum Computing

On May 6th, 1981, at the MIT Endicott House, a group of computer scientists gathered together with elite physicists to make the case that quantum phenomena could be used for computation.

Here, ideas that would influence the next four decades of quantum computing research and development first took root, as a new wave of interdisciplinarians asked themselves: what lies beyond the 0’s and 1’s? In other words, if classical computing represented binary calculations, how could quantum computing represent calculations using the math of the universe?

Sebastian Hassinger (IBM Quantum Research and Ecosystem Partnerships), and Abraham Asfaw (Global Lead, Quantum Education and Open Science at IBM Quantum) join host Matt Hooper in conversation with historian Susannah Glickman to learn about the forces and figures that transformed quantum information theory from a literal back-of-the-napkin idea into the next wave of computing.

Credits: Co-created and co-hosted by Sebastian Hassinger and Abraham Asfaw. Produced, written, co-hosted and edited by Matt Hooper. Special thanks to the entire IBM Quantum team.

On May 6th, 1981, at the MIT Endicott House, a group of computer scientists gathered together with elite physicists to make the case that quantum phenomena could be used for computation.

Credits: Co-created and co-hosted by Sebastian Hassinger and Abraham Asfaw. Produced, written, co-hosted and edited by Matt Hooper. Special thanks to the entire IBM Quantum team.

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2 - Quantum Computing Has A Purpose! (The Factoring Algorithm)

In the mid-90’s, there was no quantum computing field. There was excitement, sure, but nearly a decade and a half after the conference at MIT Endicott House, the possibilities of marrying physics and computer science had yet to yield a significant technological breakthrough.

That is, until Peter Shor discovered a way to break RSA, the most famous public-key cryptosystem.

Shor’s Algorithm was more than a call to action for a generation of scientists, it was a glimpse of how much faster a quantum machine would be able to crack even the most complex encryption scheme. Sebastian, Abe and Matt sit down with Peter Shor to discuss the discovery of the algorithm, the extraordinary response his work received twenty-five years ago, and what’s next for ensuing generations of scientists and information theorists.

Credits: Co-created and co-hosted by Sebastian Hassinger and Abraham Asfaw. Produced, written, co-hosted and edited by Matt Hooper. Special thanks to the entire IBM Quantum team.