Café des Sciences: Qubits and Entanglement

By Percy Chen, Junior Project Manager Art-Science

On 16 April 2020, we hosted our webinar titled Café des Sciences: Qubits and Entanglement. Two renowned Swiss quantum field experts Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton, Director of NCCR SPIN Project and Professor of Experimental Physics at University of Basel provided us with a technical introduction to quantum computing, while Mr. Franck Franchin, President of Swiss Quantum Hub, illustrated for us the support for Swiss quantum startups. This edition of Café des Sciences was organized in collaboration with the Section of Science, Technology and Education at the Embassy of Switzerland in China.

Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton (left) and Moderator Dr. Gaetan Messin, Attaché for Science and Technology, Consulate General of France in Shanghai (right).

Despite some technical issues, we trust that everyone has acquired informative insights on the topic. Due to the time constraint, we could only present a limited number of questions. If you have further questions for our speakers regarding quantum computing, please email us at cafedessciences@swissnexchina.org. We will try our best to forward them to the speakers.

The edited webinar recording is available to view here (until May 15, 2020).

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Here are some key takeaways that we would like to share with you. 

From Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton’s speech:

• A bit is a basic unit of information. In information theory, one bit is typically defined as the information entropy of a binary random variable that is 0 or 1 with equal probability. Normally, it is like a classic switch - either on or off. A quantum qubit is different in the sense that it can be on and off simultaneously. And this ability of a quantum system to be in multiple states at the same time is called Superposition.

• Quantum Entanglement comes into play when we attach another pair of switches to qubits. Both switches can be on or off at the same time. The quantum state of each switch of the pair cannot be described independently of the state of the others, even when the particles are separated by a large distance. Vice versa, when one switch is measured, its paired switch is immediately determined.

• So now why is quantum computing so difficult to understand? This is because it is very hard to separate quantum systems from the environment, which is the rest of our world. One significant problem is that things turn to decay. If you put a quantum qubit in the “on” state, it will gradually lose energy and turn to the “off” state. In other words, maintaining a phrase of a quantum state is very difficult.

• The goal of this century is to make quantum physics useful.

• The no-cloning theorem states that it is impossible to create an identical copy of an arbitrary unknown quantum state.

• Quantum Computer: most powerful computer allowed by the laws of physics. It is capable of solving hard problems in chemistry, material science, physics, micro-biology, and more.

• Quantum computer uses qubtis - superpositions of 0 and - and its computational power comes from entanglement between qubits.

• The current status is that few qubit devices exist and although quantum supremacy is close, a completed quantum computer is not. This is because we are never able to fully separate a quantum system from its environment. We would need 100 million physical qubits if we want to simulate the behavior of a complex molecule. This scalability problem is extremely challenging.

• In traditional computer, the scaliability problem has been solved. Silicon transistors now have FinFET technology with less than 10 nano meters of element.

• The NCCR SPIN aims to make a major contribution to research and the development of quantum computers and create the basis for a new information-processing technology. The NCCR’s objective is to develop small, fast, scalable silicon-based qubits. It will also generate important findings on software and algorithm development, error correction and the architecture of future quantum computers.

• Professor Richard J. Warburton and his team are pinning their hopes on silicon, a semiconductor that has been a proven material in the industry for decades. They are convinced that silicon technology is highly promising in enabling the on-chip integration of billions of components, leading to a particularly strong quantum computer.

From Mr. Franck Franchin’s presentation:

• Swiss Quantum Hub is a non-profit think tank with the mission to help quantum startups accelerate and scale up. The community has around 5,000 members in Switzerland, France, Germany and U.S. Right now, there are four services - Swiss Quantum Academy (SQA), Swiss Quantum Garage (SQG), Swiss Quantum Investor Club (SQIC), and Swiss Quantum MarketPlace (SQMP). Its strategic partnerships include Quantonation, Atos, Amazon AWS, and BNP Paribas.

• There are 5 big sectors for the quantum industry: Deep Physics, Quantum Sensing, Quantum Computing, and Quantum Cybersecurity.

• Quantum computers are not faster than conventional computers at all tasks.

• Constructing a quantum computer which is capable of outperforming classical computers is a formidable task. One of the most important issues is error correction: we need thousands of physical qubits to achieve one logical fault.

• Quantum Computers bring new capabilities that existing computers do not have into fields such as in Natural Language Processing and Molecular Simulations.

• Many problems in Finance, for example, can be expressed as optimization and prediction problems, like finding which asset should be included in a portfolio or estimating of the risk and the return of a portfolio problem. These types of problems are particularly hard for classical computers but find a natural formulation using quantum algorithms.

At the end, we would like to express our great appreciation to Prof. Dr. Richard J. Warburton and Mr. Franck Franchin for sharing their valuable expert insights. We would also like to thank our community for your great engagement as always! Please stay tuned for our next event!

Dr. Gaetan Messin, Attaché for Science and Technology, Consulate General of France in Shanghai (left) and Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science at swissnex China (right).

Café des Sciences: Scientific View on COVID-19

By Percy Chen, Junior Project Manager Art-Science & Suyao Ao, PR and Communications Coordinator

On 20 February 2020, we hosted our webinar titled Café des Sciences: Scientific View on COVID-19 which saw tremendous participation with 201 participants from across China, Switzerland and beyond. Two renowned Swiss epidemiologists Dr. Christian Althaus, University of Bern, and Prof. Dr. Pietro Vernazza, Cantonal Hospital St.Gallen shared their expertise on infectious diseases as well as data-driven analysis to illustrate for us a comprehensive picture of the disease. Topics such as transmission, severity, and pandemic risks were presented and close to 40 questions (including vulnerable demographics, plasma treatment, time to peak & stabilization, sequela or the role of media) were posed by the audience.

We trust that everyone has acquired informative insights on the topic. Unfortunately, due to the time restraint, we could only present a limited number of questions. If you have further questions for our speakers regarding COVID-19, please email us at cafedessciences@swissnexchina.org. We will try our best to forward them to the speakers.

Moreover, the webinar recording and slides are available to download below:

• Recording: view and download here.

• Slides: download here.

Dr. Felix Moesner (top-left), Prof. Dr. Pietro Vernazza (top-right), and Dr. Christian Althaus (bottom-left)

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Here are some key takeaways that we would like to share with you. 

1. Transmission: R0 around 2 - 3 and similar to pandemic influenza

Dr. Althaus introduced R0, the basic reproduction number of an infection, which can be thought of as the expected number of cases directly generated by one case in a population where all individuals are susceptible to infection. R0 describes the state where no other individuals are infected or immunized. R0 is measured in the beginning of the outbreak where no measure has been taken over the virus yet.

It is estimated that the R0 of COVID-19 is around 2 -3, which nearly can be defined as pandemics. Its uncertainty is comparable to the 1918 influenza.

2. Pandemic risk: High probability of outbreaks outside China   

Based on the transmission characteristics, the pandemic risk of COVID-19 is very high. Currently, most identified cases are found in China. Outside of China, most cases are found in Asian countries. In January, the first case outside of China was confirmed, and currently most cases can be traced back to China. International conveyance is the major travel exposure history for the confirmed cases outside of China.

From the preliminary simulations below, after 50 days, or seven weeks, we would expect about 20 persons infected per day, and a local break in a country can reach the size of 200 individuals.

3. Control: More than 75% of cases need to be isolated for successful control   

In the COVID-19 case, more than 75% of contacts of the infected cases need to be isolated for the successful control of the disease.

4. Severity: Overall case fatality around 1% or higher

There are several challenges in assessing case fatality ratio, for example, overestimation due to under-ascertainment of mild cases, and underestimation due to right-censoring of cases with respect to the time delay from illness onset to death.

It is currently estimated that the fatality rate is 1% or even higher. In contrast, seasonable flu is 0.1% or even lower. Therefore, preparedness is recommended.

5. Better hygiene habits would relieve much burden and gain more time for the healthcare system to react      

In terms of healthcare system, Switzerland has come up with a new Epidemics Act in force since 2016, where the work-sharing of the Confederation and the cantons in crisis situations is clarified, explicit provisions have been set out to confront new menaces and to manage health emergencies.

However, on the other side, the preparedness for such kind of epidemic also relies on that from an individual level. Hygiene measures are very important in daily life, which would greatly relieve the healthcare system burden in face of such epidemic. Better hygiene habits would gain more time for the healthcare systems to react.

6. Scientists and media should work together to make sure timely distribution of correct information 

In general, key media have done a good job in informing the public and drawing attention to the disease during the outbreak of COVID-19. There are also some media or social media that amplify false information and give raw messages away. Therefore, it’s essential that scientists and media collaborate to ensure that the public is timely and correctly informed.

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Finally, before we conclude this blog post, we would like to share some behind the scenes for this event. As many members of the Café des Sciences community knew, the original February Café des Sciences: The Design Mindset was canceled due to the COVID-19 situation. In the meantime, a lot of our audience expressed their concerns regarding COVID-19, as there is a vacuum of quality information on the Internet. We made the decision to swiftly put together an online event in just two days to address this urgent matter. We are confident now that the value we added was well worth the effort.

Again, we would like to express our great appreciation goes to Dr. Althaus and Dr. Vernazza for sharing their high-value expert insights. We would also like to thank our community for your great engagement as always! Most importantly, our heartfelt thanks go to the frontline medical workers combating the virus in China and worldwide.

Stay tuned!

Behind the scenes: In our improvised broadcast room, Dr. Felix Moesner prepares for his moderator role while Percy, Junior Project Manager, tests for the control settings.

Café des Sciences is a new format at swissnex China offering a monthly platform for Swiss Spotlight Scientists and Startups to present their projects and engage with the local community. The lectures are followed by a networking reception and scheduled to take place every third Thursday each month at swissnex China or our partner spaces.

Please stay tuned for our next event on 19 March, 2020.

Successful Launch of the “Café des Sciences” Event Series with Deep Insights into Shadow Banking

By Sacha Pantillon and Victor Dietrich, Junior Project Managers

On January 23, swissnex China, in collaboration with the HEC Lausanne, organized an event focused on “Shadow Banking in China”. It was also the launch of our new “Café des Sciences” event series, which is scheduled to take place every third Thursday each month at swissnex China or our partner spaces and offering a monthly platform for spotlight scientists and startups.

First, we had a brief opening speech by Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul and CEO of swissnex China, which was followed by a short introduction to the presentation’s topic by Victor Dietrich, HEC Lausanne Ambassador and Junior Project Manager at swissnex China.

Opening speech by Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul & CEO, swissnex China

Victor Dietrich, HEC Lausanne Ambassador and Junior Project Manager at swissnex China

Victor Dietrich consequently gave the floor to the speaker Prof. Ying Liu, Assistant Professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and an esteemed graduate of HEC Lausanne – The Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne, where she obtained her PhD.

Prof. Ying Liu recounts her time at HEC Lausanne.

Prof. Ying Liu discussed the Shadow Banking System in China

She gave an insightful presentation on the Shadow Banking System in China and provided an overview of activities related to credit intermediation, liquidity and maturity transformation that takes place outside the regular banking system. She also presented the reasons for the fast growth and associated risks.

She illustrated the differences it has with traditional banking, the advantages and the drawbacks of this practice, as well as the differences in this practice between China and the world. 16% of the whole world's shadow banking come from China even though it is a decreasing slightly as the government wants to regulate and control a bit more this domain. We had then a deeper look at entrusted loans, a major part of shadow banking in China. Entrusted loans are the inter-corporate lending facilitated by financial companies as trustee. Finally, we explored into products such as Asset Management Products in depth and more specifically Wealth Management products.

Prof. Ying Liu illustrated the differences between shadow banking and traditional banking.

The participants made meaningful connections around finger food and drinks after the presentation.

This talk generated a great interest both abroad, where a lot of people were keen to have more information on the topic and in Shanghai were participants posed many questions during the presentation, generating some very dynamic dialogue.

Finally, we pursued the discussions and made meaningful connections around drinks and finger food served in a very professional manner by Geneva Catering. The participants expressed positive feedbacks and are excited to attend the next event at swissnex China.

Thank you to all attendees for their participation.

We thank all the attendees for joining the first “Café des Sciences”, the HEC Lausanne for co-organizing this event, Geneva Catering for providing the excellent food and of course Prof. Ying Liu for sharing her research in this presentation who made this event an excellent Alumni gathering for the University of Lausanne - UNIL. We are looking forward to collaborating with all these partners again in the future.

From left to right: Dr. Felix Moesner, Prof. Dr. Ying Liu and Victor Dietrich