EAOQECC 31

Yo Holmes. So some guy is wandering around QEC Oh! Seven asking everyone to think about the history of classical computers and then to suggest where the state of quantum computing is with respect to such a timeline. This reminded me of a list on the whiteboard in Room 408 – actually the board is probably in the hopper in the service yard by now – of dates that various people in our school estimate that the first large scale quantum computation will take place. I would say at the moment we are somewhere in the middle of the Great Depression – maybe 1931 – or maybe even the Potato Famine of 1845, which means quantum computation will come of age in the year 2112.

What is LAQEC?

Day one of QEC 07 and much to Bacon’s delight it seems that people actually do care about surface codes. I’m more interested in the reason why the continental breakfast at my hotel comprises a bunch of stale muffins at the front office. Anyway, it might be a little premature to say that surface codes are sweeping that nation like the Ron Paul army did Santa Monica pier yesterday, but interest is high and so are thresholds apparently. The biggest disappointment thus far though is no Robert Raussendorf. Boooo!

It seems you feel our work is not a benefit to the public

Room 408 would like to congratulate Dr. Andrew “G-Wave” Greentree who has been awarded the 2007 Woodward Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences in recognition of his book, Speaking of Yangzhou: A Chinese City, 1550–1850. The Woodward Medal, presented yearly by the University of Melbourne, recognises staff for research considered to have made the most significant contribution in their field during the previous three years.