The [Superconducting] Quantum Computer as a [Super] Instrument

by Kasra Nowrouzi (Berkeley Lab)

Wednesday 30 Apr 2025, 12:00 → 13:00 US/Pacific

Auditorium (B50)

Recording available after event

Abstract: 

Quantum computers were vaguely conceptualized in the 1980s-90s, and were put in concrete definitional terms by David DiVincenzo in 1996, in what became known as DiVincenzo's criteria. It would take another 1-2 decades for the first proof-of-principle quantum computers to materialize.

 

In this talk, I will go over the full-stack quantum computer from a complex instrumentation perspective, describing the layers of the stack from the physical QPU to cryogenics, control system, software stack, and QCVV protocols, and the opportunities and challenges associated with them. I will finish by outlining the quantum architecture problem, concerned with the makeup of the overall quantum computer as a super-instrument, and LBL's approach to the problem.

Speaker bio:

 

Dr. Kasra Nowrouzi is a Research Scientist and the Head of Hardware at DOE's Advanced Quantum Testbed program at LBNL, where he oversees the development and deployment of full-stack superconducting quantum computers for collaborative research. His research interests include the optimal architecture of quantum computers through deep co-design. Prior to AQT, he spent 5 years at LBNL's Advanced Light Source, where he developed the Nanosurveyor 2 computational x-ray microscope for the COSMIC beamline. Kasra received his PhD in Applied Physics and BS in EECS from UC Berkeley.