Articles by Charles
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Experiments in vibe physics (part 1 of ...)
Experiments in vibe physics (part 1 of ...)
// as always much delayed from actual events - opinions my own I’m sitting in my daughter’s science fair awards…
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2025 In Review
2025 In Review
As 2025 wraps up, I wanted to take a moment to look back at what we’ve been building in quantum – both personally and…
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On the first day of Vibemas... a quantum museum exhibit idea tester.
On the first day of Vibemas... a quantum museum exhibit idea tester.
I have always wanted to build a museum exhibit to enable people to go “inside” a quantum computer. I talked about it…
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The Night Before Vibemas
The Night Before Vibemas
’Twas the night before Vibemas, when all through the house, Not a cursor was blinking—not even my mouse. The laptop lay…
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This is what I mean by quantum crucible
This is what I mean by quantum crucible
What an epic week for quantum in DC. I wanted to thank everyone for sending me photos by putting them in one place.
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I’m joining Microsoft
I’m joining Microsoft
People who know me know that I can have a sarcastic sense of humor. And that I’m not shy about saying what I think.
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March Meeting 2024
March Meeting 2024
Going to the March Meeting? Check out these great presentations from members of the group. Look below for some more…
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Happy Quantum New Years
Happy Quantum New Years
2022 was a big year for national quantum policy, including two Presidential directives. See some highlights below and…
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Activity
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Charles Tahan shared thisHoly crap, the phoniton lives? https://lnkd.in/eJ4Kv3EiCharles Tahan shared thisWe took a block of material, cooled it down, and saw Jaynes-Cummings ladder physics. No atom. No superconducting qubit. No Josephson junction. No engineered quantum dot. Just the mechanical resonance of the block and a defect that was already there. Since the 1970s, people (Anderson, Halperin, Varma, Phillips, ..) have argued that low-temperature solids are full of two-level system (TLS) defects, little double-well potentials where an atom or cluster of atoms exists in superpositions of two configurations and tunnel between them. These intrinsic TLSs are major headache the standard explanation for loss in amorphous materials, and increasingly in crystalline ones too (and in bulk and at surfaces e.g. in superconducting devices). I had read all of this and believed it in principle, but I have to admit I didn't really believe it until I saw the data from Mert and Matthew showing double-anti-crossings open up in our data, a signature of a double well being distorted by the induced voltage. The nonlinearity you need for quantum acoustics doesn't have to come from a transmon. It can come from a defect in the material itself. Huge congrats to Mert Yuksel (Roukes lab, Caltech), who led the work with Matthew Peter Maksymowych and to Oliver Hitchcock, Felix Mayor, and Nathan Lee on our side at Stanford. Theory support by Mark Dykman (Michigan State). Joint effort (and led by) the amazing Michael Roukes at Caltech. Thanks to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and the Q-NEXT Center for support. Paper: https://lnkd.in/g4Jc6z98Intrinsic phononic dressed states in a nanomechanical system - Nature PhysicsIntrinsic phononic dressed states in a nanomechanical system - Nature Physics
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Charles Tahan shared thisIt’s an incredible time to be doing science and technology development together. The pace of innovation in quantum and AI is unlike anything I have experienced in my career. Amazing progress forthcoming.Charles Tahan shared thisAt Microsoft Quantum, progress is driven by scientists and engineers who are not just advancing the field - but defining it. Leaders like Matthias Troyer, Chetan Nayak, Lauri Sainiemi, and Charles Tahan continue to move the science and the engineering forward with rigor and clarity. For those looking to go deeper on quantum architectures and the path to utility-scale systems, Matthias’s latest piece is worth your time. His accompanying video series breaks down complex concepts into concise, accessible discussions - without losing technical depth. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gJwbFntnScalable Quantum Architecture: Trade‑offs on the Path to Utility ScaleScalable Quantum Architecture: Trade‑offs on the Path to Utility Scale
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Charles Tahan shared thisExcited to be building a really unique quantum team and partner integration center in Maryland. We’ve got our hard hats on.Charles Tahan shared thisMicrosoft is partnering with the University of Maryland for a new quantum research center ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eshB-nmn "The lab will ensure that we work together with partners in industry, academia, and government to design, build, and deploy quantum computers that will shape the future," said Charles Tahan, Partner at Microsoft Quantum. As an active partner of the Computing Catalyst, Microsoft has a deep commitment to supporting the next generation of talent and opening doors for students. The new research center provides an opportunity to strengthen ties between the organizations while working together to develop an inclusive computing workforce. #QuantumResearch #Partnership #QuantumUMDUMD to Host Microsoft Quantum Research Center in… | Maryland TodayUMD to Host Microsoft Quantum Research Center in… | Maryland Today
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Charles Tahan shared thisThis may have been my peak contribution to humanity so far. But there is still time.
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Charles Tahan shared thisSo many thoughts from a surreal March Meeting this year which I should write up, but I wanted to take a quick moment to congratulate the new APS Fellows sponsored by the Division of Quantum Information! Congratulations Sergio Boixo, Andrew Cross, Renbao Liu, Peter Love, Alexander Lvovsky, and @Haohua Wang. It was an honor to serve as chair of the nomination committee. https://lnkd.in/e8z5uHE5
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Charles Tahan shared thisI feel like I have to start documenting what's happening so that I have a record of the dramatic changes to my field that are going on.
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Charles Tahan shared thisAwesome stuff.Charles Tahan shared thisWhat motivates me most in my job? The potential for long-term impact. Quantum computing holds the promise of addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges from carbon capture to clean water and sustainable energy. As a father of two young children, the future perspective matters deeply to me. It’s incredibly exciting to be part of Denmark’s dynamic quantum hub, where national strategy, academic strength, and industry collaboration are coming together in a truly unique way. What is happening in our quantum lab in Lyngby is part of something big. Across Europe, quantum has become a strategic priority, driven by political vision, investments and a growing belief in its impact on competitiveness. Yet, while Europe is at the forefront of quantum research, we still lack the investment, culture and scale required to turn breakthroughs into thriving tech companies. Therefore, to remain competitive, we must collaborate closely across borders, between research institutions, industry, and public partners. So that we spend our resources solving the right problems and help European companies grow. If we succeed, Europe won’t just contribute to the next chapter of quantum. We’ll help build it. In this blog post, I share reflections on where we stand – at Microsoft’s Quantum Lab in Lyngby and in Europe more broadly – and what needs to happen next: https://lnkd.in/d3_HnF-U
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Charles Tahan shared thisYep.Charles Tahan shared thisIf you think Microsoft is only focusing on topological qubits, you missed the bigger picture. "We work with every platform on the planet," says Zulfi Alam (CVP, Microsoft Quantum) This might surprise those who thought Microsoft was only betting on the topological "moonshot". While they are absolutely still engineering the Majorana chips, they have been focusing on another essential part of building a quantum processor: 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Microsoft isn’t waiting for the perfect hardware to arrive. They are building their version of a Quantum OS: • 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗔𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺: They are collaborating with Quantinuum (ion traps) and Atom Computing (neutral atoms). Just recently, they realized 𝟮𝟰 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 with Atom Computing, and last week in Copenhagen, they kicked off 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲, a commercial system that will be powered by neutral atoms and Microsoft’s software. • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝗗𝗞-𝗘𝗖 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗯𝗼𝘅: They’ve released an open-source 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗞𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. It’s not just for their own 4D geometric codes; it’s meant as a high-performance sandbox for the entire research community to design and test encoding strategies. • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸: It’s a tight loop between 𝗔𝘇𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗣𝗖, 𝗔𝗜, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲. They are already using AI to screen millions of battery material candidates before a single quantum gate is even fired. Just like any enterprise giant, Microsoft is running an interesting quantum strategy. If their own hardware takes longer, they already own the ecosystem for everyone else's. 📸 Credits: Microsoft Azure, Microsoft
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Charles Tahan shared this👇 Come work with the best.Charles Tahan shared this🚀 We’re hiring Summer 2026 Research Interns at Microsoft Quantum! If you’re passionate about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in quantum computing, we’d love to hear from you. See descriptions below — and check the comments for application links! 🔬 Research Intern – Quantum Applications Join us at the intersection of quantum computing and real‑world impact. Work on quantum solutions in chemistry, materials science, and optimization that have the potential to transform entire industries. https://lnkd.in/gruy8w8i 🧠 Research Intern – Quantum Algorithms Help shape the future of quantum algorithm design. Contribute to cutting-edge work in fault-tolerant quantum computing, quantum error correction, and innovative algorithmic approaches. https://lnkd.in/gpX8vgQR 🛡️ Research Intern – Quantum Error Correction Work on the foundations of scalable quantum computing by advancing error‑correcting codes, decoding algorithms, and fault‑tolerant operations alongside world‑class researchers. Help develop tools and techniques essential for building reliable quantum systems. https://lnkd.in/gEp4Uf8S We’re building the future of quantum—come be part of it. Hashtags #MicrosoftQuantum #QuantumComputing #QuantumResearch #QuantumAlgorithms #QuantumApplications #ResearchInternship #MicrosoftCareers #STEMCareers #FutureOfComputing #Hiring #Internship2026
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Charles Tahan liked thisCharles Tahan liked thisAs Day 2 of the Council on Competitiveness continued, a central theme of the program was innovation, with startups, investors, and large public companies all having a critical role in advancing quantum technology development. Panelists from across industry and academia—Charles Tahan (Microsoft), Rick Muller (IonQ), Peter Heim (Thorlabs), Rezlind Bushati (Phaseshift), Daniel D. Kunitz, Dennis Lucarelli (Error Corp.), and Stan Smith—shared insights on the technical, commercial, and workforce barriers that must be addressed to accelerate progress and grow the industry. A big thanks to moderators Patrick G. O'Shea and Dean Chang for guiding these rich and insightful discussions.
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Charles Tahan liked thisCharles Tahan liked thisFour years ago, we set out to build the world’s most scalable quantum computer. Today, Diraq is hitting its stride. Backed by world-class partners, US$100M+ in funding, and a team that is redefining what’s possible in the quantum space. By leveraging the $1T silicon legacy, we’re revolutionising quantum computing. In just four short years we’ve established: 🔹A Massive IP Moat: 60+ patents protecting decades of research in silicon spin qubits. 🔹The Fab Advantage: Proven scalability via GlobalFoundries and imec, using standard semiconductor processes to bypass the manufacturing gap. 🔹Infrastructure Integration: Partnering with industry giants Dell Technologies and NVIDIA to ensure quantum seamlessly integrates into today’s data centres. 🔹Rigorous Technical Validation: Selected for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (Stages A & B), validating our roadmap. 🔹World-Class Talent: 100+ professionals globally, including 60 of the world’s elite quantum physicists. 🔹Sovereign Capability: Strategic backing from Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation to ensure the nation is a global quantum leader. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey, I couldn’t be more excited about what comes next. #QuantumComputing #DeepTech #Innovation #Diraq #Semiconductors
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Charles Tahan liked thisMicrosoft Discovery's expanded preview reflects our past year of learning with select R&D organizations to understand where agentic AI can make a difference across scientific workflows. The implications of real-world cases are strong, and we look forward to broadening access to enterprise grade capabilities in accelerating scientific discovery. Aseem Datar's post shares more in depth about this exciting progress.Charles Tahan liked thisToday, we are expanding preview access to Microsoft Discovery! We talk a lot about AI value in software, finance and other productivity arenas, but the most important implication is in the field of science! Our mission with Microsoft Discovery is to further science through an agentic R&D platform where AI agents handle literature synthesis, hypothesis generation, and experimental simulation, all at scale, with the researcher firmly in control. This isn't AI as a search engine. It's AI as a research team. The implications for drug discovery, materials science, semiconductor engineering, and systems are beyond massive. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gAZBWMP5Microsoft Discovery: Advancing agentic R&D at scale | Microsoft Azure BlogMicrosoft Discovery: Advancing agentic R&D at scale | Microsoft Azure Blog
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Charles Tahan liked thisCharles Tahan liked thisAt Microsoft Quantum, progress is driven by scientists and engineers who are not just advancing the field - but defining it. Leaders like Matthias Troyer, Chetan Nayak, Lauri Sainiemi, and Charles Tahan continue to move the science and the engineering forward with rigor and clarity. For those looking to go deeper on quantum architectures and the path to utility-scale systems, Matthias’s latest piece is worth your time. His accompanying video series breaks down complex concepts into concise, accessible discussions - without losing technical depth. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gJwbFntnScalable Quantum Architecture: Trade‑offs on the Path to Utility ScaleScalable Quantum Architecture: Trade‑offs on the Path to Utility Scale
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Charles Tahan liked thisCharles Tahan liked thisExcited to announce that I’m taking on the newly created role of VP Science for Compute at IonQ. I’ll be working alongside CTO Thomas Harty and Director Ken Wright to lead our incredible Science team across four time zones - College Park, Oxford, Boulder, and Seattle. The ion traps that will be coming out of SkyWater Technology are going to fundamentally reset expectations around scaling. These are the designs we drew on napkins in grad school thinking “if only someone could actually build these”. I can’t wait to see our physicists get these traps into the lab and push them to their limits. The 'napkin sketch' I made back in 2011:
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NYU Center for Data Science
Interactive feedback changes how code LLMs perform and rank, a new study finds. Led by senior author Valerie Chen, a Carnegie Mellon PhD student and recent visiting researcher at CDS, the project also included Courant PhD student Jane Pan, CDS PhD student Jacob Pfau, and CDS Assistant Professor He He. The team simulated developer interactions to replace static coding benchmarks like HumanEval and MBPP. When models received human-style feedback—code edits, single-sentence prompts, or paragraph-length instructions—they sometimes improved by up to 9.3 percentage points in accuracy and moved as many as four spots in ranking. “Testing on new problems the models had never seen made feedback even more powerful,” said Chen. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAPTP5NR
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Digital Promise
A new memo by Dr. Yenda Prado Prado and Xin Wei via the Federation of American Scientists discusses new research models that are varying from the traditional structure. Conducting quality research, while ensuring data privacy, is crucial to researchers across the field. New research models, such as SafeInsights, flip the usual research model and bring the data to researchers. "Think of it as a secure research zone: a trusted third-party intermediary where researchers can run analyses using specific tools and applications, but cannot access data directly, ensuring strict security." Read the full memo: https://lnkd.in/g_c8qZr3
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Steven J. Barela, LL.M, Ph.D.
𝐀 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬. Yet we still lack a clear picture of its full scope—the scale of the problem, the systems driving it, and the actors actively eroding trust in public discourse. 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. That requires access to data, independent researchers equipped to study it with rigor, and protections for those exposing the facts. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭.
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