Quoting Fred Chong, University of Chicago: “Quantum Computing is incredibly exciting because it is the only technology that we know of that could fundamentally change what is practically computable, and this could soon change the foundations of chemistry, materials science, biology, medicine, and agriculture.” Over the past decade, quantum computing has evolved from a field of scientific research to a full-fledged technology industry. Industry, governments, and universities are all experimenting with advanced quantum computing hardware and software to become quantum ready. Canada can significantly benefit from attracting and training highly qualified personnel in quantum computing and thereby strengthen its leadership position in the science and engineering of quantum solutions. To achieve quantum advantage using quantum computers that emulate how nature processes information is challenging because quantum computing is so different from classical computing. To solve problems using integrated quantum and classical computations requires innovation and ingenuity. Integrating quantum and classical computations can generate practical solutions for different applications and technology stages by leveraging the strengths of both worlds. In this talk, we will introduce quantum computation fundamentals and discuss challenges and opportunities when combining quantum and classical computation approaches while trying to imagine the future of computing.
Hausi A. Muller, Ph.D., PEng, LIMEEE, FCAE, FCSSE, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering, University of Victoria
Hausi A. Müller is a professor of Computer Science at the University of Victoria and an adjunct professor at Icesi University in Cali, Colombia. He was associate dean of research, Faculty of Engineering (2009-2019). He is Co-Chair IEEE Future Directions Quantum Initiative and serves on the IEEE Conferences Committee (2019-2021). He has held many senior positions on the IEEE’s committees and chaired many conferences related to software and IoT. He received an IEEE CS Golden Core Member Award (2016) and IEEE TCSE Distinguished Service Award (2016). In 2011 Dr. Müller’s research team won the IBM Canada CAS Research Project of the Year Award. With his research group, he collaborates extensively with industry as an international expert in software engineering, software evolution, quantum computing, adaptive systems, IoT, and intelligent cyber-physical systems.
Dr. Müller was General Chair of the inaugural IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE) aka IEEE Quantum Week 2021 Oct 18-22, 2021 and Quantum Week 2020, Oct 12-16, 2020. He is Co-Chair IEEE Quantum, an IEEE Future Directions Initiative (2019-2021), IEEE's leading community for quantum computing and technologies. The initiative is continuously identifying challenges and opportunities, leveraging and collaborating with existing initiatives, and engaging the quantum community at large.
He has led numerous NSERC Strategic Partnership Grant projects, including on Middleware Framework and Programming Infrastructure for IoT Services and an NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Grant on Dependable Internet-of-Things Applications (DITA). These programs involve partnerships with many Canadian universities and companies bringing together expertise in networking, cloud computing, applications, and business.
He was the founding Director of BSEng, a CEAB accredited Bachelor of Software Engineering degree program in UVic’s Faculty of Engineering.
Dr. Müller was Program Co-Chair of WF-IoT 2015 and 2018, the World Forum of Internet of Things. He was General Chair of ICSME 2014, the 30th IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance in Victoria. He was General Chair of SEAMS 2012, the 7th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Software Engineering for Adaptive and Self-Managing Systems in Zürich. He was General Chair for ICSE 2001, the 23rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2001) in Toronto.
Dr. Müller is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE) and a Professional Engineer (PEng) registered with APEGBC. He received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering in 1979 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich and MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Science in 1984 and 1986 from Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA.