Recently, IBM Quantum demonstrated error mitigation techniques using 100+ qubit processors that enabled calculations not achievable with classical computing techniques. This faculty for "quantum utility" with noisy qubits, well in advance of fully fault-tolerant quantum processors, opens the prospect of applying quantum computing to more real use cases sooner than previously considered possible. What does this shift mean in practical terms, and what ramifications might it have, including the prospects for quantum-safe cryptography?
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Kevin Roche
Research Engineer & Quantum Ambassador, IBM Research Almaden
Kevin Roche is a research engineer at IBM Research Almaden, specializing in materials for magnetoelectronics, spintronics, and other related fields. He is an expert in ultra-high-vacuum systems and thin-film deposition, data acquisition and laboratory automation.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Kevin earned his Bachelor's degree in Physics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1983. He first joined IBM Research in 1982 as an American Physical Society intern; after completing his degree, he returned to IBM Research.
Since 2002, Kevin has been introducing and explicating his work in physics and materials science publicly, making it accessible to audiences with a wide range of technical education; he was a featured expert on magnetic levitation for Episode 4 of Science and Star Wars. In 2017 he added quantum computing concepts to that role and is now both an official IBM Quantum Ambassador and a Qiskit Advocate.
Kevin has been a dedicated science fiction fan since he learned to read, and his hobbies include building bartending robots, designing and making costumes, and running science fiction conventions; he was Chair of the 76th World Science Fiction Convention in August 2018.