How I Became A Quantum Computing Researcher | physics, code & startups

I've been in quantum computing for 12 years now!

Trying to figure out how to use quantum computing in your business or need to secure against the quantum threat?

My undergraduate research was in quantum optics and quantum information lab. We were doing long distance quantum communication and trying to increase the coherence time (the length of time the quantum information could be stored), in neutral atoms, in our case, Rubidium.

1. Worked on neutral atom quantum memories. What we worked on was trying to increase the length of coherence time, the time the quantum information was stored. From the time I started to the time I left, we had increased the time from 10 microseconds to over 1 second. This is a HUGE amount of time in quantum information.

2. Could we preserve quantum information while transitioning photons to different wavelengths? These photons, used as the store of quantum information, would travel long distances through fiber optics. These fiber options are optimized for a certain wavelength - around 1200 nm. Unfortunately the photon we created was at about 800 nm. Turns out, yes!

3. I set up the lab from scratch. I designed this ultra high vacuum system. In contrast to superconducting qubits which are cooled inside cryostats to 10 mK, neutral atoms were cooled in ultra high vacuum systems and shooting lasers at the atoms to slow them down further and trap them

I ended up getting hired by a quantum computing startup, Rigetti Quantum Computing as a really early stage employee and being moved out from Maryland to California. They had just graduated from YCombinator, they had three employees at the time. I had been considering working on trapped ions in graduate school since they were similar to the neutral atom work I've done. When I was at University of Maryland Joint Quantum Institute for graduate school, I talked a bit to the professor who started the company IonQ, Chris Monroe. They did ion traps, more similar to neutral atoms that I had done. So superconducting qubits was new territory for me. However, I also was able to do business and science and engineering, all at once. But then I left there as well.

So now, I'm doing a lot of coding, mostly in Go, some Python, plus working with superconducting qubits still. Bleximo, which means entanglement, is working on building "quantum accelerators" quantum-based, application-specific integrated circuits. These quantum accelerators will run in parallel with classical computers, and attack problems in the near term - algorithms that require less qubits, like simulating the structure and properties of molecules and chemical reactions.

I got to travel to Switzerland and Japan for IBM Qiskit Camp. I got 2nd place in IBM's Europe Qiskit Camp for work in improving performance of Qiskit, and 1st place in IBM's Asia Qiskit Camp for designing a pulse level programming language for quantum computing.

Should you study physics or computer science?

If you're in school and thinking of majoring in physics or computer science and are interested in quantum computing, I think that studying physics never hurts!

Now, Silicon Valley LOVES hiring physicists to be software engineers, so if you decide you don't want to do research, that's an option. There are so many startups that have popped up the last 5 years doing quantum technology, and a lot of larger companies are spinning up quantum computing groups. You can also work in software engineering. In the end, physics teaches you to think critically and be able to model a complex system. That's useful everywhere and has always helped me in whatever job I wanted to do. I do regret not taking more Computer Science courses though!!

If you're not in school anymore, there's so much material online. There are multiple quantum computers on the cloud that you can run experiments on. Read books! Check out online courses. Code on these cloud platforms. .

0:00 My journey
0:21 Growing up, High School & Robotics
1:41 College & Picking a Major
4:11 Undergraduate quantum research
6:01 Detour to start a company
8:02 Graduate School
9:16 Quantum startups, software engineering, and Silicon Valley
10:55 Bleximo
11:14 Qiskit Camps
12:11 Why Physics and tips for quantum enthusiasts

#dayinthelife #physicist #scientist

[souravsingh]

Your story is one bad incident away from a super villain origin story.

[tulpa_trove]

Hi. I don't know if you'll see this. If you don't, that's alright too. I randomly stumbled upon your channel. Thank you for sharing your story. It's morale-boosting. And I'll even say intimidating to me at the same time. But that timidness stems from admiration too. You're well versed, accomplished, possess the intellectual capability I wish I had sometimes, and are living the type of path that I once wished I had. I'm one of those folks who find science topics cool even though I'm not good at it, don't understand or grasp many science & math concepts, and have no intention of going into a STEM career. As strange as that might sound. I'm just a curious layman watching into the bubble from the outside.

And yes, I know that hard work and dedication plays a big role in it too. And we could all achieve great things if we put our minds to it. But it goes to show too that one's upbringing/milieu plays a large part in how well one might thrive. For one, like someone just mentioned, having supportive parents can make a difference. And how lucky you are to have had that; supportive parents who had shared interests and involved you into something from an early age. I never had that as a child. I struggled a bit more than my peers. I always fell behind. I struggle with dyscalculia and host of other things. I was on an IEP throughout most of my academic career. Parents are immigrants who were unfamiliar with the U.S. school system & curriculums. They aren't bad parents though. We just didn't have access and knowledge of what resources to use. I sometimes can't help but imagine how I'd turn out today had things been handled better and if I was brought up differently. I've also been put down and dealt with some toxic teachers and classmates growing up. Even to this day, at age 32, I still feel behind and stunted sometimes. It feels wasteful... But I make do of what I have.

Anyways, I'm sorry for my nonsensical ramble. I'll see myself out. Thank you again for sharing your story. Stay humble. Keep doing what you do and keep striving and being an inspiration to others.

[Rabarbaraaa]

Hi!
I just want to tell You that Im a 15 Year old girl and currently super interested in physics and quantum things. I just found your channel and to finally see a girl doing sciency things was really an inspiration for me!

Thank you and I will continue to watch your channel while learning more about the magical world of physics <3

[adhillA]

2:45 Honestly, crying is a perfectly valid response to discovering that you wasted 10 pages of derivation because of an arithmetic error on the first page.

[KHALNAYAK]

It's definitely like a dreamt life that you have lived so far.. It's like listening to legendary biography..

[khushichadha]

this is the best channel i found this year and along with sciency skills your storytelling skills are impeccable. Happy belated women’s day!

[tauhid]

man... idk if you realise how amazing your story is. Heck... the fact that you started research at an undergrad level truly brings my time as a second year student into perspective. Like what I am doing... just reading notes 💀

[sachingowda]

Really amazing and helpful, I'm from a tech background and looking to move towards physics. It's good to know you're not the only one trying to jump around and make big changes

[matoflynn]

So cool to hear about the path that lead people to where they are now. Cheers to a super exciting future!!

[gloriat]

Love your videos! Thank you for sharing. I’m a software engineer wanting to get into quantum, so I’m glad to hear there is space for non-traditional people!

[zacmorri]

Is there anything that you can not do😂 ?You really do a good job of downplaying your intellectual ability ! Inspirational story!

[kent_hdd]

Wow, I thought this will be an uninteresting story and still decided to give it a shot. I regret nothing, this was something I was looking for. Great video!

[rafaszlendak]

Wow, Deep Work on the desk... what a coincidence!
Seriously, though, this book is a game-changer. Two years after reading it, I still surprise myself with how much can I achieve and how happy and peaceful can I be if I just live a focused life.

[WilliamDye-willdye]

I work with a lot of Ph.D.'s, and my dad had one. Talking to them convinced me to never get a Ph.D. Too many nightmare stories. Not everyone regrets it, but the risk is too high.

[shaikhahmed]

Heck, this is one hell of a career journey. I am in my 30s with a CS degree but I always loved physics more than anything back in my high school years. I used to skip literature classes and spent times in the college library trying to find out interesting math and physics books. I remember I once found a book on math around astro-navigation and it caught me like science fiction.

[braindeveloperdimensional]

I got respect for you. You take on difficult things for fun, that's amazing.

[ArtfromHell]

My brain just left my body and tried to go back to collage after that.

[xs]

I call it Physics Vision: when your in the physics library, the previous lecture the professor just went over the material for the homework, it’s due tomorrow, and you don’t know how to start, so you just cry for a bit, and then get started.

[rajivsen]

What a dynamic career path. Loved it. 🤩 Exploring on the "Cutting Edge" of Human ingenuity. I wish to have a similar Dynamic career trajectory. 🙄

This is what Steve Jobs meant when he said: "Keep looking, Never Settle" 🤓

[AshokTak]

Even though I know very little about Quantum Computing but I couldn't stop myself to watch whole video just to see your cool adventures <3