The Quantum Pontiff

ACM Classic Books

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:51:15 -0500

Via Michael Nielsen's friendfeed, I am led to ACM Classic Books Series. If you've got ACM subscription access, some of the book are even in electronic form. Cool. I love the introduction to "The Computer and the Brain" by John von Neumann:

Since I am neither a neurologist nor a psychiatrist, but a mathematician, the work that follows requires some explanation and justification. It is an approach toward the understanding of the nervous system from the mathematician's point of view. However, this statement must immediately be qualified in both of its essential parts.

I feel like I need to use an intro like this everytime I submit a paper to a computer science conference.

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A Hunting We Will Go

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:33:06 -0500

Buried under way too much work right now. So for your viewing pleasure (ha) an epic story of Christmas tree hunting in the great pacific northwest.

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Nature on El Naschie

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:49:05 -0500

Nature article on El Naschie. (See also The Case of M.S. El Naschie, Continued.)

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CIFAR quantum postdoc

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:24:13 -0500

Postdoc with some awesome Canadian quantum researchers:

Quantum Information Processing Program
JUNIOR (POSTDOCTORAL) FELLOWSHIPS

The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) is a private not-for-profit research institute. It is a catalyst for discovery, incubating ideas that revolutionize the international research community. CIFAR identifies emerging fundamental research questions concerning society, technology and the very nature of humanity and the universe, and creates interdisciplinary networks of leading scholars from around the world to explore them in a way that is unparalleled elsewhere.

CIFAR's Quantum Information Processing Program is seeking outstanding researchers to fill two Junior Fellow positions (i.e., postdoctoral fellowships). One position will begin as soon as is convenient for the successful candidate and will run through summer 2010. The other position will begin in fall 2009 and will last two years.

The Quantum Information Processing Program studies a wide range of topics relating to quantum information, an interdisciplinary field combining quantum mechanics with computation and information theory. The program includes researchers investigating experimental and theoretical physics, theoretical computer science, and mathematical aspects of quantum information. Program members in Canada are listed below.

CIFAR's new Junior Fellow Academy is an initiative designed to cultivate new generations of research leaders. This program is targeted to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship and research potential and have recently completed a Ph.D. degree. Junior Fellows will be fully integrated into an appropriate CIFAR research program, and will also participate in a virtual 'Academy', bringing them together with their peers from across all of the Institute's programs. In this setting, they will enjoy opportunities for peer networking, mentorship and career development through specially organized activities and events.

Interested candidates should apply on-line at http://www.iqc.ca/positions/postdoc-cifar/application.php?t=1. The application should include a CV (including list of publications), a research statement, and names of up to 3 potential supervisors. Eligible supervisors must be members of the CIFAR QIP program and should normally be located in Canada, although other arrangements will be considered in exceptional cases. Applicants should also provide names and e-mail addresses of 3-4 referees (at least 3 must not be CIFAR program members). Acceptable formats for submitted documents are .doc, .pdf, .odt, .html and .txt.

To receive full consideration, applications must be received by Wednesday, December 10th, 2008, although later applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

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Hawking Gets New Chair

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:42 -0500

The blackberry hole (aka the Perimeter Institute) has swallowed another person. Most fittingly, however, this time the observer will exist both inside and outside of the Perimeter Institute, thus giving us an answer to the black hole information paradox:

WATERLOO, Ontario, Canada, November, 2008 - Dr. Neil Turok, Director of Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI), is pleased to announce the appointment of internationally regarded scientist Prof. Stephen Hawking to the position of PI Distinguished Research Chair.

Prof. Hawking will conduct regular stays at PI in coming years, beginning in the summer of '09, and says, "I am honoured to accept the first Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute. The Institute's twin focus, on quantum theory and gravity, is very close to my heart and central to explaining the origin of the Universe. I look forward to building a growing partnership between PI and our Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, at Cambridge. Our research endeavour is global, and by combining forces I believe we will reap rich rewards."

In announcing that Prof. Hawking will visit PI for extended periods each year, PI Director Neil Turok said, "The appointment marks a new phase in our recruitment that will see leading scientists from around the world establish a second 'research home' at Perimeter Institute. I am delighted that Stephen has agreed to accept the first of a projected 40 such visiting Chairs. We look forward to hosting Stephen in Waterloo, Ontario, to benefiting from his wise mentorship and guidance which has been so successful in Cambridge, and to the many stimulating scientific collaborations which will undoubtedly emerge."

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SqUINT Reminder

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:38:48 -0500

The deadline for SqUinT abstracts for posters and talks is Nov 26th. See here.

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Machine Gun?

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:58:55 -0500

How did I miss this, an obvious entry into the best title ever contest:

arXiv:0810.2587

A photonic cluster state machine gun
Authors: Netanel H. Lindner, Terry Rudolph

Quick, duck for cover, Terry is shooting us with cluster states!

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Dewy Eyed Pastoralism

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:04:17 -0500

Today is the 149th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. I'm probably just suffering from a bout of dewy eyed pastoralism, but when was the last time a book which was readable by the general public was also a major work of science? (Not Here That's For Sure)

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Rivalry Week

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:34:43 -0500

This is rivalry week

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Funky Friday

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:53:09 -0500

Johnny Chung Lee has some cool videos up about wiimote tacking mods and.....more.

Tell me which of these is stranger:

or

?

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SQuinT abstract, registration, hotel deadlines

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:12 -0500

A reminder from Ivan for those who want to attend SqUinT

Dear SQuInTers,

Please remember that abstract submission for contributed talks and posters are due in one week, Nov. 26.

http://panda.unm.edu/SQuInT/contribute.php

Registration payment deadline -- Dec. 12.

http://panda.unm.edu/SQuInT/register.php

Hotel reservation deadline -- Jan. 19.

http://panda.unm.edu/SQuInT/local.php

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Letter to an Older Scientist

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:10:12 -0500

If only I were Michael J. Fox, a letter I would send back in time.

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Everything and Nothing

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:24:16 -0500

Over at Uncertain Principles, the uncertainty father has a couple of posts up about parallel universes the many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory. Which reminded me of a rant I've been needing to write (sorry a bit of technical jargon to follow.)

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Hours

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:18:30 -0500

Observations on time.

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QIP 2009 Registration Now Open

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:48:40 -0500

Registration for QIP 2009 is now open:

QIP 2009 -- 12th WORKSHOP ON QUANTUM INFORMATION PROCESSING -

Santa Fe, New Mexico USA. January 12-16, 2009.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN at http://qipworkshop.org/
Deadline for special conference hotel rates: December 1st.

Quantum Information Processing is the recasting of computer
science in a quantum mechanical framework. QIP 2009 is the twelfth
workshop on theoretical aspects of quantum computing, quantum
cryptography and quantum information theory in a series which
started in Aarhus in 1998. QIP 2009, like its previous editions,
will feature invited talks, contributed talks and a poster session.

While the deadline for paper submissions has passed, poster submissions are still open.

Submission deadline for posters: December 1, 2008.
Acceptance notification for posters: December 8, 2008.

INVITED SPEAKERS:

Andrew Childs (IQC, Waterloo)
Avinatan Hassidim (Jerusalem)
Matt Hastings (Los Alamos)
Charles Marcus (Harvard)
Lluis Masanes (IPS, Barcelona)
Graeme Smith (IBM TJ Watson)

STEERING COMMITTEE:

Dorit Aharonov (Hebrew University)
Cris Moore (UNM/SFI) (Chair)
John Preskill (Caltech)
Jaikumar Radhakrishnan (TIFR, Mumbai)
Renato Renner (ETH Zurich)
Peter Shor (MIT)
John Watrous (Waterloo)
Andreas Winter (Bristol)
Ronald de Wolf (CWI, Amsterdam).

PROGRAM COMMITTEE:

Hans Briegel (University of Innsbruck)
Harry Buhrman (CWI, Amsterdam)
Wim van Dam (UCSB)
Daniel Gottesman (Perimeter Institute)
Aram Harrow (Bristol)
Patrick Hayden (McGill)
Richard Jozsa (Bristol) (Chair)
Julia Kempe (Tel Aviv)
Manny Knill (NIST)
Andrew Landahl (University of New Mexico)
Debbie Leung (IQC Waterloo)
Keiji Matsumoto (NII Tokyo)
Ben Reichardt (Waterloo)
Alex Russell (University of Connecticut)
Barbara Terhal (IBM)
Frank Verstraete (University of Vienna)

LOCAL ORGANIZERS:

Howard Barnum (LANL)
Jim Harrington (LANL)
Andrew Landahl (University of New Mexico) (Chair)
Cris Moore (University of New Mexico / Santa Fe Institute)
Jon Yard (LANL)

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