Jake Xuereb and Mirko Consiglio are the two Maltese students from the Department of Physics who have been chosen to participate in the first European Quantum Future Academy.
Jake Xuereb is a Mathematics and Physics student heading into his final year of studies. His area of interest is in quantum information and he is already collaborating with the Quantum Information Group at ETH in Zurich and the local group Quantumalta to answer questions about the thermodynamics of quantum computation as part of his final year thesis.
Mirko Consiglio completed his four-year BSc degree in Mathematics and Physics and will now read for his PhD focusing on hybrid quantum–classical algorithms and their various applications in quantum technologies. He hopes that his research will identify better ways to surpass the capabilities of current state-of-the-art computer algorithms intended to solve some of the most complex problems we are struggling with nowadays.
Both students went through a rigorous selection process that involved submitting a motivational letter, a CV, taking a challenging test on quantum mechanics, and giving a presentation about quantum mechanics.
Jake spoke about the ideas behind his research on the thermodynamics of quantum computation. He explained results from the past decade on quantum information which show that the quantum mechanical process of entanglement can be measured quantitatively and that changes within this quantity correspond to changes in the heat of the system.
Mirko discussed the concept of using quantum entanglement as a resource in information processing, through which remarkable scientific feats such as quantum teleportation and superdense coding can be carried out.
QFA2020 is an opportunity to be in groups of people that are all deeply passionate about the same ideas. Both Jake and Mirko are looking forward to meeting like-minded young researchers, forming friendships, and starting new research collaborations in November. Due to COVID-19, the European Quantum Future Academy will now be taking place virtually.