Invitation to the ICTP Webinar Colloquium by Prof. Scott Aaronson on "Quantum Computational Supremacy and its Applications"on Wednesday 8 July at 16:00 hrs

[ICTP/director]

Dear All,

You are most cordially invited to the ICTP Webinar Colloquium by Prof. 
Scott Aaronson on "Quantum Computational Supremacy and its 
Applications"on Wednesday 8 July at 16:00 hrs

*Pre-registration* is required at the following url: 
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RITne_8aRxK85EsQHAsQLQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing 
information about joining the webinar.

The talk will be available on livestream via the ICTP website, and also 
on ICTP's YouTube channel.

Live screening in the Budinich Lecture Hall will be set up as well. Due 
to the safety measures that are in place, a maximum of 10 can attend by 
keeping distances and wearing a mask).

*Biosketch: *Scott Aaronson is David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of 
Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his 
bachelor's from Cornell University and his PhD from UC Berkeley. Before 
coming to UT Austin, he spent nine years as a professor in Electrical 
Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. Aaronson's research in 
theoretical computer science has focused mainly on the capabilities and 
limits of quantum computers. His first book, Quantum Computing Since 
Democritus, was published in 2013 by Cambridge University Press. He 
received the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award, the 
United States PECASE Award, and the Tomassoni-Chisesi Prize in Physics.

*Abstract: *Last fall, a team at Google announced the first-ever 
demonstration of "quantum computational supremacy" - that is, a clear 
quantum speedup over a classical computer for some task - using a 
53-qubit programmable superconducting chip called Sycamore. Google's 
accomplishment drew on a decade of research in my field of quantum 
complexity theory. This talk will discuss questions like: what exactly 
was the (contrived) problem that Sycamore solved? How does one verify 
the outputs using a classical computer? And how confident are we that 
the problem is classically hard - especially in light of subsequent 
counterclaims by IBM and others? I'll end with a possible application 
for Google's experiment - namely, the generation of trusted public 
random bits, for use (for example) in cryptocurrencies - that I've been 
developing and that Google and NIST are now working to test.

This event is an initiative of the Trieste Institute for the Theory of 
Quantum Technologies (TQT). TQT was established in 2019 in collaboration 
with SISSA and the University of Trieste as an international centre of 
excellence promoting research in the field of quantum technologies, 
serving as a catalyst for theoretical activities not only in Italy, but 
also in neighbouring and developing countries. TQT is hosted on the ICTP 
Campus.

The talk will be followed by a question/answer session.

For info, please check the following link: http://indico.ictp.it/event/9414/

We look forward to seeing you online!

With best regards,

Office of the Director, ICTP