20 September 2012, Inaugural lecture Ronald de Wolf: What quantum computing can do for you

Ronald de Wolf was appointed Professor of Theoretical Computer Science on 1 March 2011. He will deliver his inaugural lecture (in English), entitled "What quantum computing can do for you" on Thursday, 20 September 2012 at 16:00 in the Aulua of the University of Amsterdam. All welcome.

Abstract

Computers are everywhere these days, and many things in our society function only thanks to fast and large-scale information processing. Today's computers (in both theory and practice) are based on classical physics. In recent years it has turned out (in theory and to a lesser extent in practice) that computers can become much more powerful if they make use of effects from modern quantum physics, such as superposition, interference and entanglement. In this lecture I will give an overview of this young field from the perspective of computer science. After a general introduction we will look at various other areas that could benefit from quantum computing: cryptography, mathematics, physics, and even philosophy.