Quantum Leaps
Wenona Alumna, Sophie Wright (2023), is making waves in the fascinating field of quantum computing.
A recent Wenona graduate, Sophie was recognised for her outstanding work completed as part of her HSC. It is titled "Quantum Quandary: Comparing variations in quantum and classical computer efficiency” and won the Secondary School section of the AARNet Mathematics Award at last year’s Science Teachers’ Association of New South Wales Awards.
Quantum computing takes a new approach to computing and has the potential to very quickly solve enormously complex problems that current, classic computers cannot. “Quantum computers look at really tiny particles such as electrons and photons, which follow an entirely different set of mechanical rules to the objects that we see,” Sophie explains. “A coin is a helpful analogy. Before being observed, it's in this limbo state of being both “heads” or “tails” at the same time. This mysterious property is called superposition. By leveraging it, quantum computers can handle the same binary zeros and ones that classical computers use but with more efficiency, by being in a state of zero and one simultaneously. Thus, they can solve problems that not even the world's largest classical supercomputers can.”
Sophie's research required her to run tests to solve “Grover’s algorithm”, which is used to search unsorted databases. She explains it this way: “It’s as if you were searching for an odd sock in a gigantic pile of laundry. With a classical computer, you would have to look at each piece of clothing one by one, but with the properties of a quantum computer, the time it takes to find the sock narrows exponentially … Grover’s algorithm can be used to mine large databases to advance medical research, code development, Bitcoin mining – the list goes on.”
While Sophie’s results confirmed her hypothesis, she concluded that quantum computers still have a vast way to go. “We've only really scraped the edge of understanding in this field,” she said. “There is a long way to go to improve the structural integrity of quantum computers.”
As Sophie was very new to research in this area, her work called on all her reserves of resilience and courage. “Quantum computers were so cool to me, but I was filled with a lot of self-doubt due to my lack of experience,” she said. “All of the quantum jargon felt like I was reading another language. I spent months aimlessly testing algorithms, which gave me incompatible results. Thankfully my Mathematics teacher, Ms Blake, kindly taught me linear algebra and complex numbers during free periods. I also sought the help of Professors Casey Myers and Charles Hills from the University of New South Wales, who also generously clarified the mound of quantum computing queries I had.”
Now Sophie is poised to commence a Bachelor of Advanced Computing and Science at the University of Sydney, majoring in computer science and physics. “I will be happy to work wherever I can contribute, whether that be in hardware engineering, software development, or research. I am inspired by the work of Silicon Quantum Computing led by Michelle Simmons, IBM and various Google start-ups. I'm just really excited for the future of the field and where it could take society!”