[Colloquium] The Inevitable Quantum Winter?

Speaker:  Eric R. Hudson is a Professor of Physics at UCLA and the David Saxon Presidential Chair.

Title: The Inevitable Quantum Winter?

Abstract: Governments around the world are jockeying to secure their place in the coming quantum
industrial revolution. Large, multinational corporations are investing billions of dollars to
develop quantum computers. One may wonder what role academia can play now that the
technology has moved from proof-of-principle to large scale integration. I’ll argue that the role
of fundamental science is now more important than ever if we are to prevent a quantum bust.
Towards this cause, I’ll give an overview of our work at UCLA focusing on reaching ultra-high
fidelity operations in trapped ion qubits, finding new, more scalable, qubits, and embedding
error correction within a single quantum system. Finally, I’ll also describe efforts at UCLA’s
Center for Quantum Science & Engineering to partner with SoCal industry to help drive the field
forward.

Eric R. Hudson is a Professor of Physics at UCLA and the David Saxon Presidential Chair. He
is an atomic physicist with research interests ranging from trapped ion quantum computing,
harnessing new molecular-based quantum systems, developing nuclear-based timekeeping, and
searching for physics beyond the Standard Model.