CASUS Institute Seminar
Quantum computing meets quantum chemistry: a potential new era of simulation and study
CASUS Institute Seminar, Werner Dobrautz, Group leader at CASUS and ScaDS.AI
Abstract of the talk// Quantum computing is emerging as a novel computational framework that can revolutionize various research domains. By using quantum bits (qubits) instead of classical bits, quantum computing potentially allows for much faster and more powerful computation than regular computers. However, current quantum computing technology has severe limitations, such as the inability to hold onto information for long (decoherence), errors in operations (noise), and an insufficient number of qubits to do meaningful calculations.
In the first part of his talk, Werner will explain why computational quantum chemistry – the field of research that uses computers to simulate and study the behavior of atoms, molecules, and materials – in particular, could benefit from quantum computing. He will also discuss the potential and limitations of state-of-the-art quantum computing approaches in this field of research. In the second part, Werner will highlight some of his research on novel quantum algorithms that allow meaningful chemical computations even with the limited number of noisy qubits of current quantum computers.
Curriculum vitae// Werner studied technical physics in Austria at Graz University of Technology, specializing in computational solid-state physics. He obtained his PhD in computational quantum chemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research and the University of Stuttgart in 2019. His PhD research focused on developing innovative quantum Monte Carlo methods in a high-performance computing (HPC) setting to solve strongly correlated electron problems. From 2021 until the end of 2024, he was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. His research at Chalmers University and the Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technologies focused on developing novel quantum computing algorithms to enable realistic electronic structure calculations on current and near-term quantum computing (QC) devices.
Since December 2024, Werner is a Dresden-concept research group leader jointly appointed at the Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in Dresden and the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding in Görlitz. In this role, he is building an AI4Quantum research group that focuses on developing a synergistic HPC+QC approach aided by novel artificial intelligence/deep machine learning methods to enable the computational study of complex quantum systems relevant to the green energy transition.
Werner Dobrautz will be talking live in Görlitz. However, as the event is organized in a hybrid format that includes a videoconferencing tool by Zoom Inc., people interested in the topic have the chance to also join the talk remotely. Please ask for the login details via contact@casus.science.
CASUS – Center for Advanced Systems Understanding, Conrad-Schiedt-Str. 20, D-02826 Görlitz, Deutschland
15 January 2025, 2 pm