PhD student Amit Teeni awarded the BSF scholarship

PhD student Amit Teeni was awarded the BSF scholarship for encouraging scientific collaboration between Israel and the U.S. The scholarship offers a two-month visit to the U.S. for the purpose of knowledge exchange and joint research.

Teeni’s research involves the mathematical foundation of quantum information and quantum computing. He focuses on two main issues: The first, how the geometry of sets of quantum states relates to the information they carry, in relation to one another. The second, and more relevant to the current trip, is why quantum computers achieve an advantage over classical computers when solving certain problems but not others. “We study the characteristics of the problem, the algorithm, and the quantum computer that point to a potentially faster solution in the quantum realm, and try to quantify this advantage,” explains Teeni’s supervisor, Prof. Eli Cohen. “For example, we found the boundaries in which reside certain quantum computing algorithms, and saw what they have in common and what sets them apart. Hopefully, this research will help make existing quantum algorithms more efficient, and allow us to formulate new quantum algorithms.”

Another subject of Teeni’s research is the relationship between a problem’s algebraic structure and the ability to achieve a quantum advantage. This is the main subject he will be using the scholarship for: Teeni will soon be travelling to the U.S. to collaborate with Prof. Greg Kuperberg, a leading researcher of quantum information and computation, who graciously offered to host him for an intensive two-month visit. The Faculty of Engineering wishes him the best of luck.