IBM Executive Stories: Bringing Useful Quantum Computing to the World
Zaira is the Director of Science and Technology for the Office of the Director of Research at IBM. A theoretical physicist by background, Zaira is a research scientist and leader who works with some of the brightest minds in the world. They’re innovating what comes next in computing at IBM Research.
Based in White Plains, New York, USA, Zaira’s inspiration stems from her father who encouraged and enabled her curiosity in science – and defining what’s possible continues to drive Zaira’s ambition to make the world work better.
In this interview, we’re getting an inside look at quantum mechanics and quantum computing from Zaira’s perspective. She’s sharing the problems researchers are trying to solve so they can deliver solutions that change the world. Plus, we’re exploring her illustrious career in science and technology.
If you’re ready to explore how you can make an impact as research scientist at IBM, browse through and apply to any of our job openings or join our Talent Network to receive updates on events and career opportunities.
Understanding the technology that’s transforming the future
The quest towards a quantum computer that simulates nature
“You may have heard people say, ‘we use quantum mechanics to do computation.’ But what does that even mean? Quantum mechanics is a fundamental physics theory that describes how nature behaves at the fundamental level. It has some fascinating properties. For example: you can have a physical system that is in a definite state and still behaves randomly. And you can have particles that can be arbitrarily close or far apart and behave in ways that – although individually random – they are inextricably correlated. What this means is that a quantum mechanical system contains more information than just the sum of the individual parts that constitute the system. It implies that accurately predicting the behavior of nature at a quantum mechanical level is something that ordinary computers simply cannot do.”
“Physicists have been thinking about this for a long time. In the early 1980s, you had physicists, like Paul Benioff, that suggested the use of quantum mechanics as a model of computation. So that’s where this all starts taking shape. After him, around that time, Richard Feynman also demonstrated that a conventional computer cannot efficiently simulate quantum phenomena.”
“Quantum computation is really the only way to access all those unique properties that I mentioned. The idea is that if we can harness and control those properties, then we’ll be able to process information fundamentally different to how we do it today.”
Quantum computing: why is it a good thing?
“Take the theory of electrons that are interacting electromagnetically with nuclei in atoms. It’s very simple to write the equation that describes that. It only involves a handful of quantities, namely the masses and charges of the electrons and the nuclei, and one of the fundamental constants, which is Planck’s constant. It describes most of the things that matter in our everyday life. That’s how powerful it is. Of course, being able to write it doesn’t mean that we can solve it, and we can only solve it exactly for a handful of particles because the amount of computer memory that is required to represent the quantum states makes that impossible.”
“What we have been doing during much of our entire history with computing has been approximations. We do approximate calculations to those large systems. The thing is, it’s an art that’s tied to experiments. Because of that, it tends to be the least reliable precisely when you need reliability the most—when you’re dealing with little experimental information, behavior that has no precedent, and you don’t even know what the key questions to ask are. Computers that operate quantum mechanically could solve that, so that’s why we’re interested in this.”
“If we can use quantum mechanics to process information, it can help us discover new materials. It can help us with chemistry and understanding certain problems of physics. It can also help with problems where solving them involves finding a global property. You can think of a quantum computer as a specialized form of computing accelerator, meaning that it can give you dramatic speedup for a few very specific, but incredibly important problems. But it cannot improve everything that we do with ordinary digital computers.”
A career as a research scientist
A love for physics was born
“When I started in college, I had no idea what physics was, so I started in biology because I thought I was going to study genetics. Then, I discovered physics in college, and I fell in love with it. I changed my major and the rest was history.”
“I was born and raised in Puerto Rico but moved to Stanford (California, USA). I did my PhD in Condensed Matter Theory. After that, I worked for a couple of years at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany; I then worked for the U.S. Department of State, where I was building and running biological, chemical, and nuclear safety and security programs and advising the U.S. government on science policies. After that, I moved to do more with research and development programs at DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and IARPA (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity).”
Growing at IBM
“In 2017, I joined IBM and the quantum theory team to do research in quantum error correction and did theoretical research in superconducting quantum computing device physics, like superconducting qubits. I started learning more about algorithms and moved to the role of technical lead for theory and algorithms. My goal was to better understand how we could correct errors that happen in quantum computers, as well as questions like:
What are the promising algorithms that exploit those properties of quantum mechanics?
What are their advantages in providing a solution for intractable computational problems?
In which applications will those algorithms be useful for science and business for IBM’s clients and our partners?
After that, I made the transition to work with Darío Gil (IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research) at the Office of the Director of Research, where I lead science and technology.”
“Some of the biggest opportunities I’ve had at IBM are:
- Access to expertise in a broad range of technologies and areas of work.
- This allows me to make something that is more impactful.
- An environment where I feel that I can speak with anyone at any level.
- I’ve been able to really grow and develop as a professional thanks to this, and it’s a big reason behind the impact I’m able to bring both in and out of IBM.
It’s too hard to pick just one favorite project because we do a lot of amazing things at IBM. They range from quantum computing to helping the teams in AI, hybrid cloud, or semiconductors, and the intersection of some of those areas, and working with governments, clients, or partners.”
Diversity, equity and inclusion: its impact on the progress in science and technology
“It goes beyond diversity of ideas. Without it, we would end up with limited solutions and innovations that exclude the needs of large portions of our population. Let’s also not forget that discoveries have been made by people from different backgrounds and places. In the case of women, statistically, they achieve on par with men in math and science courses. So, there’s no reason to believe that in the future that would be different or that you should not have that balance in diversity. In general, human ingenuity and intellect is not determined by borders, nationalities, race or origin. Ideas and technical ability can come from anywhere. Education does play a role in how you can exploit it, but the talent doesn’t know borders, nationalities or race.”
“I didn’t have the best education growing up. I had to rely a lot on teaching myself. It was an uphill battle to overcome those huge gaps in education that I’m sure are not unique to just me. Many of us face this – but I learned to not think of overcoming challenges as impossible.”
“So that’s my message: sometimes we may get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the challenges that we face. We might say:
This is just too much. It’s impossible!
When we feel that way, remember that famous quote, “everybody knows that some things are simply impossible until somebody who doesn’t know that, makes them possible.”
Discover your potential at IBM Research
For more than 110 years, IBM has been a catalyst that makes the world work better, and we remain dedicated to driving actionable change and outcomes for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society – and in the world of delivery consulting, you could do just that. Each day is a chance to solve new puzzles, meet new challenges, and help clients achieve their goals — all while growing your expertise and expanding your horizons.
Zaira says where you work and who you work with make all the difference. If her journey and insights have intrigued you, consider IBM as your employer of choice.
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