Academic and Professional Training in Quantum Computing: The Importance of Open-source
Workshop of the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE24) Montréal, Québec, Canada, September 20th 2024
This workshop will explore the importance of quantum open-source contributions to academic and professional education at all levels of quantum computing expertise. Its objectives include analyzing how open-source contributions enhance quantum computing education and evaluating the significance of mentorship programs and other open-source initiatives. The workshop will showcase stories of individuals who have contributed to quantum computing through open-source projects, highlighting their achievements and paths to draw comparisons and insights. Moreover, it aims to determine the main benefits of different open-source quantum initiatives, such as hackathons, tutorials, and talks, as educational resources, while also addressing their current limitations. These include: how to use open-source platforms as a learning tool; how to maximize attendance at QC events; and what it means to be proactive, diverse and inclusive in QC.
Target Audience
The workshop is designed to accommodate individuals of all backgrounds, including researchers, professionals from academia and industry, as well as those who have experience as mentors in various programs or collaborating on open source projects. Additionally, it is suitable for newcomers to quantum computing, open source enthusiasts, or individuals with experience in quantum computing or programming but no prior knowledge of open source. It is crucial to ensure equitable representation from these diverse groups to accurately reflect their perspectives and opinions in the resulting report. This will facilitate the creation of local or international mentoring opportunities, contributions to open source projects, or the initiation of open source quantum computing projects during the workshop.
Program of the Workshop
Speakers
Michał Stęchły
PsiQuantum
Quantum Software Engineer at PsiQuantum. He is lead developer of bartiq, a tool for performing symbolic quantum resource estimation. While at Zapata he was leading the efforts of developing Bench-Q, a resource estimation tool developed as part of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking program. His main interest is building better software tools for quantum computing, in particular through designing better abstractions. Michał is an active member of the community and has been involved in multiple initiatives such as QOSF Mentorship Program, Unitary Fund, IEEE Quantum Week conference and others. He's also author of a blog Musty Thoughts.
Extra information: bartiq, personal blog
Catalina Albornoz
Xanadu
Catalina holds a MSc. in Electronics from Los Andes University and an Engineering Diploma from IMT Atlantique in France, with a research focus on autonomous systems. She’s currently Quantum Community Manager at Xanadu, where she helps build the community around PennyLane. In the past, Catalina worked at IBM, where she was an IBM Quantum Ambassador.
Extra information: pennylane
Zeki Seskir
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany and QWorld
Zeki C. Seskir is a researcher in the field of technology assessment (TA) and coordinator of the project "QuTec: Quantum Technology Innovations for Society." He conducts landscaping studies on QT ecosystems, education and outreach research in QT, and conceptual exploration for ELSA research for QT to be utilized in TA capabilities. He was a co-coordinator of the project "Quantum Technologies Education for Everyone [QuTE4E]" organized within the QTEdu CSA under the Quantum Flagship, and a co-founder/co-coordinator of QTurkey, a local branch of QWorld. His background is in Science and Technology Policy Studies (STPS) and in Physics with a focus on Quantum Information Science. His research interests cover a wide range of topics from quantum games to innovation ecosystems.
Extra information: QTurkey
Mariia Mykhailova
Microsoft Quantum
Mariia Mykhailova is a principal software engineer at the Advanced Quantum Development team at Microsoft. Her main interests are software for fault-tolerant quantum computation and quantum education and outreach. Mariia is the author and maintainer of the Quantum Katas project – an open-source collection of hands-on tutorials and programming problems for learning quantum computing. She is the author of the books “Q# Pocket Guide” (2022, O'Reilly) and "Quantum Programming in Depth" (2024, Manning). Mariia is also a part-time lecturer at Northeastern University, where she has been teaching “Introduction to Quantum Computing” since 2020, and a mentor in QOSF Mentorship Program.
Extra information: katas, Q# pocket guide, Manning book
Misty Wahl
Unitary Fund
Misty Wahl is a Member of the Technical Staff at Unitary Fund, a non-profit organization helping to build the quantum technology ecosystem. She is a lead developer of the quantum software packages Mitiq (quantum error mitigation) and Aquapointer (quantum for biological applications), as well as a researcher in quantum error mitigation and quantum applications. Misty is also the creator and host of a video series featuring microgrant winners on Unitary Fund's YouTube channel. Prior to pivoting to quantum technology, Misty was an engineering project manager at ASML, a global semiconductor equipment manufacturer. Misty holds BS and MEng degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University.
Extra information: Mitiq, unitary.fund/grants
Ricky Young
qBraid
Currently serves as an engineer and COO at qBraid. He graduated with a Bachelors in Engineering Physics from Stanford with a focus in quantum science. Ricky has placed 1st in the Creative Destruction Lab hackathon alongside his teammates in SRRSA.
Extra information: qBraid
Mark Jackson
Quantinuum
Dr. Mark Jackson is the Senior Quantum Evangelist at Quantinuum. He received his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Duke University and Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Columbia University. He then spent 10 years researching superstring theory and cosmology, co-authoring almost 40 technical articles. He is an Entrepreneur In Residence at Yale Ventures, Adjunct Faculty at Singularity University, and a Director of Astronomers Without Borders.
Organizing Committee
Alberto Maldonado Romo, CIC-IPN/Quantum Open Source Foundation - alberto@qosf.net
Lia Yeh, University of Oxford/Quantinuum - lia.yeh@cs.ox.ac.uk
Victor Onofre, Pasqal/Quantum Open Source Foundation - victor.onofre@qosf.net
Vardaan Sahgal, Quantum Solutions Launchpad Womanium Foundation - vardaan.sahgal@womanium.org
Contact
Alberto Maldonado Romo, CIC-IPN/Quantum Open Source Foundation - alberto@qosf.net