One of the greatest achievements over the past century was the rise of electronic computers. By controlling how electrons move in a circuit, we can do a host of tasks that would be much harder otherwise. The technology has become so ingrained in modern society that you are probably reading this with a computer and use them daily. Condensed matter physics is not often the focus of public science talks but it is the driving force behind the tools we use to make new technologies. In this talk, I discuss the recent push to make a quantum computer, a new type of computer that promises to solve different kinds of problems, beyond what we can currently do with classical computers. I will talk about the developments that led to computing and how powerful concepts in physics and computer science have opened the door to future quantum computers.

Will There Be New Dating Apps on a Quantum Computer? (No, but we get other cool stuff)

Thomas Baker, Professor, Physics & Astronomy and Chemistry