A recording of this lecture is now available
Computers are everywhere: in phones, cars, toasters, on the moon, in orbit, leaving the solar system, running the internet, keeping track of your money, deliveries, the NHS. Every year we are urged to upgrade to the latest, fastest model. But what exactly is a computer, and how can we build a really fast one? Quantum engineers are busy designing and testing the next generation of superfast, supercool computers, made from single atoms, or tiny superconducting circuits, with exquisitely controlled microwaves and light.
Viv Kendon is a Professor of Quantum Technology at the University of Strathclyde. She is researching into many aspects of quantum computing, from understanding how the quantum speed-up is achieved to comparison of analogue and digital versions of quantum computers. She has worked on quantum computing for the past 20 years, at Imperial, Leeds, and Durham universities, before moving to Strathclyde in 2021.