By Gisele Habibulla ‘25
Superbowl Sunday wasn’t the only thing Quantum Computing students had to look forward to on February 13. Qubit by Qubit organized a virtual tour of MIT’s labs for all the aspiring computer scientists in the program. Just before our weekly lecture, everyone had the opportunity to take part in this interactive visit led by Ph.D. research fellow, Sarah Muschinske. Here, students received insight on what a day at MIT looked like for a quantum computing researcher, as well as how some of the laboratory equipment worked and how the scientists used them. For instance, the downstairs lab contains all the physical computers, stabilizing, and cooling systems, and links to the lab upstairs which converts all the data into standard computers. This allows the researchers to work with the collected information in a more office-like setting.
This tour has been extremely meaningful to me and other students because it gave us an opportunity to understand what our futures will look like if we choose to pursue quantum computing. Because the process of studying quantum computers is still under development, there is a lot of grey area concerning what path to take when learning about quantum and turning it into a career. Hearing about what Sarah had to say about her specialties in chip design, qubit fridge maintenance, and the measures of qubits helped this field of science feel less daunting and something that can be truly enjoyable. It was especially interesting to learn about how Ms. Sarah super conducts qubits using technology similar to technological powerhouses like Google. I truly appreciated how much detail we received on the day-to-day life for a computer scientist at MIT, and how we would be implementing what we are learning now in this career path.
Visiting an institution that is as illustrious as MIT has truly been an insightful experience. I’m excited to see what new opportunities Qubit by Qubit will be offering to curious students such as myself in the future.