photo credit: Frank Wojciechowski
This week on Discourse, Professor of Electrical Engineering Andrew Houck ’00 joins us to discuss the latest in quantum computing. Earlier this year, Professor Houck’s work in this exciting new field prompted the editors of Technology Review magazine to include him on their list of the top 35 young innovators for 2009. The TR35, as it is called, is described as an eclectic list of “technologists and scientists, all under the age of 35” whose work is changing the world. In our interview, Professor Houck explains what distinguishes quantum computers from classical computers, describes the fundamental building block of quantum computers (the “qubit”), and touches upon the most important question of theoretical computer science–”does p = np?” Listen here.