Harnessing the Power of Quantum

Early in a career that’s gotten underway as the potential for quantum computing has begun to accelerate, Kate Smith is focused on leading both academic researchers and companies toward a future in which the vast power of quantum becomes scalable for an exciting array of uses.

An assistant professor of computer science and (by courtesy) electrical and computer engineering, Smith arrived at Northwestern two years ago after managing the software engineering team at Infleqtion responsible for maintaining the company’s physics-aware quantum compiler Superstaq, where she directed research and development for projects involving optimized compilation, error mitigation and simulated quantum programs. Before that, she had been a Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE)/IBM postdoctoral scholar at University of Chicago, and she received a PhD in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University.

In the quantum architecture lab at Northwestern, called QuantA, Smith and her group undertake research into the architecture and software stack for quantum computing systems. “The software is ultimately what brings the users to the system,” she says. “We interact with our phones, with our computers, through all these interfaces that are human-intuitive. And then, behind the scenes, all the software translates down our inputs and our requests into executables that the hardware understands. So that is really where my expertise lies.”