Kevin Roche

"Really Weird Science: An introduction to Real Quantum Computing"

ABSTRACT -- The hype around Quantum Computing makes it hard to tell what is real and what is marketing. Kevin will try to dispel those clouds of uncertainty, starting with an introduction to the weird science that enables this new technology, and demonstrating how you can try out real quantum computers yourself (for free!) on the IBM Quantum Labs website. This presentation is intended for an interested audience with any level of technical background (no fancy mathematics required!)

SPEAKER -- Kevin Roche is a research engineer at IBM Research Almaden, specializing in materials for magnetoelectronics, spintronics, and other related fields. He is an expert in ultra-high-vacuum systems and thin-film deposition, data acquisition and laboratory automation. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Kevin earned his Bachelor's degree in Physics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1983. He first joined IBM Research in 1982 as an American Physical Society intern; after completing his degree, he returned to IBM Research.

Since 2002, Kevin has been introducing and explicating his work in physics and materials science publicly, making it accessible to audiences with a wide range of technical education; he was a featured expert on magnetic levitation for Episode 4 of Science and Star Wars. In 2017 he added quantum computing concepts to that role and is now both an official IBM Quantum Ambassador and a Qiskit Advocate.

Kevin has been a dedicated science fiction fan since he learned to read, and his hobbies include building bartending robots, designing and making costumes, and running science fiction conventions; he was Chair of the 76th World Science Fiction Convention in August 2018.

For further information, see the following web sites. Note that these are not full links. You will have to copy and paste these partial URLs into your browser.

News & about IBM Quantum Computing: ibm.com/quantum-computing
Interactive access to a Quantum Computer: quantum-computing.ibm.com
Qiskit (programming, open source community): qiskit.org

Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov