"In the 1950s through the 1980s people thought of quantum effects as occurring in very small things and as a source of noise-you had to understand quantum theory to build transistors. People thought of quantum mechanics as a nuisance. He and Brassard discovered methods-like quantum coin-tossing and quantum entanglement-that turned the perceived handicaps of quantum reality into a powerful tool."
"Until that 1979 meeting, there had been a disconnect between information science and physics. The latter field had experienced a disruption in the early 20th century when physicists discovered quantum mechanics, a deeper explanation of how the universe operated that superseded the classical physics of Isaac Newton. Computer science, however, didn't account for the quantum world, except for having to deal with its effects on tiny chips."
Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard met in 1979 off Puerto Rico and developed quantum information theory, bridging the gap between information science and physics. Before this, computer science largely ignored quantum mechanics except as an unwanted effect on transistors. Bennett and Brassard discovered methods like quantum coin-tossing and quantum entanglement that converted perceived limitations of quantum reality into advantages. Their work established the foundation for quantum computing, a field now pursued by major companies like Google, Microsoft, and IBM. Their contributions earned them the ACM A.M. Turing Award, computing's highest honor.
#quantum-computing #quantum-information-theory #bennett-and-brassard #quantum-mechanics #acm-turing-award
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