UMN Lecture - 2nd Quantum Revolution, the Race to Build "Impossible" Computers

The first quantum revolution brought us the great technological advances of the 20th century—the transistor, the laser, the atomic clock and GPS, the global positioning system. We now realize that this 20th century hardware does not take full advantage of the power of quantum machines. A second quantum revolution is underway based on our relatively new understanding of how information can be stored, manipulated, and communicated using strange quantum hardware that is neither fully digital nor fully analog. This talk will give a gentle introduction to the basic concepts that underlie this quantum information revolution and describe major challenges as well as recent remarkable experimental progress in the race to build quantum machines for computing, sensing and communication.

Steven Girvin, Yale University

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026
7 p.m.

McNamara Alumni Center, Memorial Hall
200 Oak St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

This lecture is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Registration is encouraged but not required. We look forward to seeing you there!