A few days ago Leonardo Bacciottini, the first “Quantum” Computer Engineer of the University of Pisa, graduated (with a perfect 110/110 cum laude). I know, for the insiders I should have said the first master’s engineer in Computer Engineering with a thesis on quantum computing / quantum Internet and I apologize to my fellow rigorists who I already see turn up their noses for this license of mine that we can define poetic, but which is only dictated by enthusiasm.
Apart from these formal aspects which may be of interest only to some university professors, I would like to emphasize some training problems that Leonardo had to face and which are typical of a frontier subject such as quntum computing / quantum Internet. Just to immediately mention the thorniest, the study plan for obtaining the master’s degree in Computer Engineering in Pisa, does not include courses in quantum mechanics and quantum computing / quantum Internet. Consequently, Leonardo had to bridge this “quantum” cultural gap by following, among other things, a course in quantum mechanics of the degree course in Physics. However, all this additional study load did not prevent Leonardo from graduating with full marks and on schedule (five years). Equal, as they say at the University!
It is well known that the naivety of the neophytes and the passion of the young often lead the latter to underestimate the problems. However, if you ask Leonardo if he would make the same choice for his thesis, he will answer unequivocally yes, adding that the topic is fascinating and full of opportunities for the new generations of Computer Engineers.
In fact, the quantum computer is now a short-term goal for computer giants such as IBM, Google, etc. for this reason, students do well to “sharpen their weapons”, already at the level of the master’s thesis, in order to be able to face with agility the challenges posed by this new technology which for many will determine a revolution similar to that produced by the advent of the Internet. And the thesis supervisors Giuseppe Anastasi, Luciano Lenzini, Enzo Mingozzi and myself are extremely convinced of this. As evidence of what has just been said, a few months ago, IBM announced that by 2023 it will make available a quantum computer with 1,121 qubits, called IBM Quantum Condor, with the ultimate goal of developing a quantum system of 1 million qubits or more. IBM believes that 1,121 qubits represent a symbolic value that must be overcome in order to arrive at market quantum computers. The US giant is today among the most important players in the sector, but there is no shortage of fierce competitors such as Google, Microsoft, D-Wave and Rigetti.
We can affirm, using the famous phrase “alea iacta est”, that the topic “quantum” is now making its entry (in Pisa) into the field of Computer Engineering.
It is foreseeable that the themes quantum they will be progressively inserted, first as didactic modules within existing courses, and then hopefully become real autonomous courses within the Degree Courses in Computer Engineering.
With the step-by-step policy very dear to me, I am sure that the number of “quantum” undergraduates will increase significantly in the coming years.
All this is part of a collaboration plan with Fermilab of Chicago (Illinois, USA) where a project has recently started for the development of a quantum computer with performances that go well beyond those of currently existing quantum computers. Do you know who is running this project? Well, Prof. Anna Grassellino, also graduated in Electronic Engineering, in 2005, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Pisa!
As a final consideration, I think I can say that in Pisa, with the University and the CNR, the same seeds are germinating in the quantum computing / quantum Internet field that led to the birth, respectively, in the 50s and 70s of the last century. of the CEP, the first Italian electronic computer, and of RPCNET, the first Italian computer network that created the premises for the connection of Italy to the Internet, carried out by the CNUCE Institute of Pisa on 30 April 1986.
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