Teaching

Independent study projects

We have a number of spots open for independent study projects at the BS and MS level. You can peruse the detailed list.

You can also see a list of past projects.

COMPSCI 490Q & COMPSCI 648: Quantum Information Science

As an upper undegraduate class and a graduate class versions.

Quantum information science (QIS) revolutionizes our understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe and promises world-altering improvements in a number of practical computational tasks. For theoretical computer scientists, QIS provides the means to unlock the ultimate computational powers available to us in this universe. For programmers and computer engineers, QIS offers the tools to run simulations and optimizations otherwise infeasible on classical computers. For theoretical physicists, QIS gives us hope of resolving paradoxes foundational to our understanding of Nature. And for experimentalists and engineers, QIS also enables the creation of exquisite sensors and novel communication tools, far outperforming what is classically permitted.

This class will introduce the notion of quantum probability amplitudes, i.e., the "correct" probabilistic description of Nature, and describe how these quantum phenomena permit the creation of new types of computational machines. The introduction to foundational quantum information science will be followed by a few practical (and impractical) quantum algorithms, illustrating the counterintuitive computational powers of quantum mechanics. The latter half of the class will focus on the difficulties of creating such extremely fragile computational machines in our noisy and unforgiving real world.

See more at the undergrad class page and the grad class page.

COMPSCI 692U: Quantum Error Correcting Codes

A graduate seminar.

The first few weeks of the course will consist of introduction to classical and quantum error correction through lectures by the instructors. After the introduction is completed, we will transition to the seminar part of the course where students will be studying and presenting recent advancements in quantum error correction. The main focus would be on topological codes like the surface and toric codes, and on good quantum codes like the recently developed quantum LDPC codes.

See more at the class page.