In this episode Chris introduces Mira Sharma, his co-host of the show. Mira is a PhD student at IQI in David DiVincenzo’s group. This is their first co-hosted episode, so it is an experiment.
For today’s episode Chris and Mira left the cluster bubble on a roadtrip to Siegen where they met Christof Wunderlich. Before recording, they were able to visit Christof’s lab where it was fascinating to see the ion traps and have an interactive introduction to trapped ion QC. They also visited eleQtron, Germany’s first QC start-up.
Listen to the full podcast episode with Christof here or using your podcatcher.
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:42 Welcome Christof
00:02:17 The decision to become a physicist
00:05:25 Undergraduate studies on nonlinear dynamics
00:07:30 Changing topics to intense laser fields during the PhD studies
[correction: note that at 00:11:49 Christof mentions an inaccuate date for the publication of Shor’s algorithm. It should state 1994 not 1992.]
00:14:00 Switching to single quantum systems during the postdoc
00:20:30 From cavity QED experiments to trapped ions
00:30:00 Mastering trapped ions for quantum computing purposes
00:47:56 About MAGIC
00:53:19 Transitioning from Hamburg via Dublin to Siegen
00:56:30 On becoming an entrepreneur and founding eleQtron
While recording, Alex Jahn – who is not only a talented web designer and a great podcast editor but obviously a gifted illustrator – made this drawing of the recording session:
Previous ML4Q&A episodes:
From Academia to Industry: Frank Wilhelm-Mauch and Jan Goetz on MLQ&A’s 20th Episode
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In the podcast's so far longest episode, Mira and Chris speak to Sebastian Hofferberth about his journey through academia as he literally went from Heidelberg to Harvard, to Stuttgart, then Denmark and finally to Bonn where he became member of ML4Q. We talk...
A deep dive into Quantum Error Correction with Markus Müller on ML4Q&A
In this episode, Mira and Chris talk with Markus Müller, a member of ML4Q and Professor at RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich. Markus, an expert in quantum error correction, explains its importance in building large-scale quantum computers. He...
Understanding quantum chaos over a glass of Campari – ML4Q&A with Silvia Pappalardi
In this episode Mira and Chris talk to Silvia Pappalardi, who joined ML4Q as a junior professor in April 2023. Silvia heads the Qhaos group (spelled with a Q) and introduces our listeners to the topic of quantum chaos which might be a bit intimidating for many...
Gláucia Murta guest on ML4Q&A in latest podcast episode
In this episode Chris talks to Gláucia Murta, a postdoc in ML4Q, who won the cluster's Young Investigator Award. They talk about Gláucia’s passion for fundamental questions, device independence and a great outreach project, the podcast O Q Quantico she...
New podcast episode with Julian Schmitt
In the podcast's last episode in 2023, Chris talks to ML4Q member, Julian Schmitt, leader of the junior research group “Quantum fluids of light” at the University of Bonn. Julian recently received an ERC Starting Grant, the ML4Q Independence Grant. In 2022 he...