The Roscongress Foundation, the Russian Quantum Center and State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom are announcing the second international online discussion as a part of the cycle “Quantum of the Future”. The project includes the open sessions, which are dedicated to the quantum computing and the creation of the quantum computer, quantum communications and absolutely secured data transmission and also the application of quantum technologies in medicine to improve life expectancy and life quality.
The discussion, titled “Quantum communications: absolutely secured future” will take place 11th June at 17:00 Moscow time, and can be viewed on the Roscongress Foundation’s website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page. Moderating the event will be Ruslan Yunusov, who is heading Rosatom’s project to build a quantum computer in Russia.
“The quantum computer is sometimes called the information bomb of the XXI century. Why? Our classic encryption systems are publicly available, they are feasible for a quantum computer – this means the risk of not only stealing your money, but in the future also stealing, for example, your health: hacking a pacemaker, or other smart medical devices. A quantum computer, like a coin, has two sides: with the advantages of creating new materials, optimizing logistics and other improvements come associated risks. One possible solution is quantum cryptography. If a quantum computer acts as a sword, then quantum cryptography is a “shield” based on fundamental physical laws,” reports Ruslan Yunusov. “In Russia, leading banks, such as Gazprombank and Sberbank, are already testing such communication lines, and their key clients will be protected by quantum encryption within five years. Rostelecom has also been participating in the first Russian quantum communications network since 2019, and Russian Railways recently launched a program to develop quantum communications as part of the national roadmap,” he concludes.
The following speakers will take part in the discussion:
- Artur Ekert – a pioneer in the field of quantum communication and quantum computation, Professor of Quantum Physics at Mathematical Institute, Director of Centre for Quantum Technologies, Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor, National University of Singapore;
- Gregory Ribordy – CEO of ID Quantique, one of the leading company in the field of quantum communications which also produce quantum communications devices;
- Urbasi Sinha – one of the ideologists of launching a quantum program in India with a budget of $1.12 billion, Professor at Raman Research Institute (RRI), India;
- Feihu Xu – Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, participant of the world's first attack on a commercial quantum key distribution system (QKD), was included in the list “Innovators Under 35” by MIT Technology Review in 2019. Now he is a member of the group of Prof. Jianwei Pan, a leading scientist in the field of quantum communications;
- Aleksey Fedorov – Head of the "Quantum Information Technologies" group at RQC, Founder of QApp — Post-quantum security solutions, was included in the list “Forbes 30 under 30”;
- Artur Gleim – Head of Quantum Communications department at Russian Railways (RZD).
The program is supported by MKR media and the Friends for Leadership business initiative, in partnership with PGBgroup2.0 and online science magazine N+1.
Subsequent online discussions are scheduled to take place 18th June (“Can quantum technologies improve life expectancy and life quality?”) and 25th June (“Quantum technologies market: who invests in it and why?”). The names of the guests for each discussion will be announced in due course on the Roscongress Foundation website, and the News section of the Russian Quantum Center website.
The first meeting “Quantum Computing: Answers to Global Challenges” took place 4th June. The participants have discussed global challenges which the quantum computer could take on. Speakers of the first online discussion included: Ekaterina Solntseva – Chief Digital Officer at State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom; Urbasi Sinha – an advocate for the launch of India’s USD 1.12 billion quantum programme, professor at the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in India; Boris Altshuler – senior quantum technology consultant for Google and professor at the department of physics at Columbia University; Gianfranco Basti – Professor of philosophy of nature and science at the Pontifical Lateran University in Italy; Fyodor Lukyanov – Research director at the Valdai Discussion Club and chief editor of Russia in Global Affairs Journal. The summary of the session can be read in the Analytics section of the Roscongress Foundation website.
