Varad Pande is a PhD student at CONNECT in Walton Institute for Information and Communication Systems Sciences, South East Technological University (SETU), Waterford.
How did you get to this point in your life?
Since childhood, as far as I can remember, I have wanted to be a scientist since I am very inquisitive and my parents have always encouraged these pursuits. Specifically, I wanted to be physicist since Class 8 in school and wanted to work in quantum science since the 2nd year of my undergraduate studies in the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India. Subsequently, I got interested in and have been working in the area of quantum computation and quantum communication.
How would you explain your research to someone who has no idea about your discipline?
Just like the hardware for classical computers based on silicon-based semiconductors which makes the processing units and memory, a quantum computer can be built with several architectures or hardware such as superconducting quantum interference devices, ion traps (charged atoms which are strongly confined by lasers at extremely low temperatures), photonics (particles of light), neutral atoms (chargeless atoms confined by lasers at extremely low temperatures), semiconductor quantum dots (crystals of semiconducting material with diameters of 2-10 nanometers), among others. The basic element of a quantum computer are quantum bits (or “qubits”) which can have more physical states than a normal bit which can be in two states, that is, 0 or 1. Due to quantum mechanical properties including quantum coherence (which enables a qubit to exist as in-between states of 0 and 1) and quantum entanglement (which enables spatially separated quantum particles to instantaneously affect the state of each other; note that information still cannot travel at a speed greater than light), quantum computers have greater information processing capacity relative to classical computers. My work is on developing a new architecture for quantum computing based on quasiparticles of light and matter called exciton-polaritons, which emerge from the strong interactions between photons (particles of light) confined strongly between highly reflective mirrors and electrons situated inside a material placed at specific positions between the mirrors.
What is the most challenging element of your work?
Because reinforcement learning works best with realistic patterns, yet must take actions within the environment it aims to improve, running training on a real network would be highly disruptive and inefficient. This is why we are using network simulations. The quality of the trained AI model and how well it will improve the QoS partly depends on how similar the simulated digital twin of a network is compared to the real one that it was based on. There is a lot that goes into it, such as pathloss model that takes into account moving users and physical obstacles between them, but also the patterns in traffic sent. Not everything has to be totally realistic as AI is generalizing to some extent anyway, so the main challenge is finding a balance. It is important to figure out which parts of the simulation can be simplified, and which ones have to be more realistic for the model to perform the best in real scenarios while avoiding running the simulation training at a glacial pace.
What do you think could be the next defining trend in technology?
Quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing or metrology (science of measurement), could well be quite radical in solving some of the world’s greatest challenges. Quantum communication through quantum key distribution could usher in an era of secure communication due to unbreakable encryption. Quantum computation could result in applications such as modelling the complexity of nuclear fusion; help in climate change mitigation strategies such as carbon dioxide capture from the atmosphere, its removal and storage; agricultural fertilization through efficient methods for ammonia production; resolving the chemistry of drug metabolism thereby revolutionizing drug discovery; discovering a stable type of lithium nickel oxide to build environment-friendly lithium-ion batteries; advanced artificial intelligence due to quantum machine learning, among others. Quantum sensing has applications such as a quantum accelerometer as an alternative to Global Positioning System (GPS) which can fail due to weather, spoofing, or jamming; extremely sensitive thermometers inside cells to study major questions in biology and medicine; detecting viruses such as Covid within seconds and very low false-negative rates; performing non-invasive brain scans by sensing and analysing the magnetic fields generate by the brain; among others.
Is there a personal experience that changed how you saw the world?
Upon completion of my integrated Bachelor of Science-Master of Science (BS-MS) dual degree from IISER Pune, I moved from India to the US for my masters degree in physics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). There, I was influenced by the work ethic, professionalism, and sensitivity to excellence of the people. And experiencing a different culture resulted in an amalgamation in me carrying the best of both worlds. Coming to Ireland has been another great experience and it’s kind of enlightening to reflect on the distinct yet connected nature of human existence.
CONNECT is the world leading Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications. CONNECT is funded under the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres Programme and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund. We engage with over 35 companies including large multinationals, SMEs and start-ups. CONNECT brings together world-class expertise from ten Irish academic institutes to create a one-stop-shop for telecommunications research, development and innovation.
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