Quantum Computing: From Laboratory Physics to Computational Tool

Abstract

Quantum computing is emerging as a potential tool for addressing scientific problems that challenge conventional computational methods. This seminar will draw from my own path in experimental physics to describe two of the leading platforms for quantum computing – trapped atomic ions and superconducting circuits – and how those fit into the full quantum computing stack, from materials and device engineering to algorithmic innovations that will take advantage of the systems once they come into their own. I’ll highlight research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory along the way and close with information about ways to engage with the Laboratory.

LLNL-ABS-2011667

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Biography

Dr. Kristin (Kristi) Beck is a staff scientist working with the LLNL Quantum Coherent Device Physics Group and the director of the Livermore Center for Quantum Science. Her research interests span the quantum computing stack, from device hardware and gate design to testbed architecture. 

Kristi joined LLNL in 2020. Prior to LLNL, Kristi was a senior physicist at the startup quantum computing company IonQ. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland in 2018. She received her Ph.D. from MIT in 2016, her M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge in 2010 and her BS. in Physics and B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Rochester in 2009. Her scholarship has been recognized through several fellowships including an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a Winston Churchill Scholarship.