Conveners
Special: Quantum Computing 1
- Chair: Mr Nyameko Lisa ()
Special: Quantum Computing 2
- Chair: Mr Nyameko Lisa ()
Special: Digital Leadership
- Chair: Dr Ricardo Harry (CSIR)
Quantum computing represents a transformative leap in technology with the potential to address complex challenges across sectors such as health care, energy, and finance. For Africa, embracing quantum technologies offers unique opportunities to drive innovation, enhance research capacity, and contribute to global advancements. This talk explores the steps needed to build a quantum-ready...
Alloys, solid solutions, and heavily doped systems, where compositional variation of a multi-component system produces enhanced physical and chemical properties, are critical for key technologies including energy generation and conversion, catalysis, optoelectronics, and smart buildings. However, the simulation of such disordered materials to predict their properties remains an outstanding...
The government department of science innovation and technology (DSIT) and the UK science funding council (UKRI )have kick started a large scale AI national service called the AI Research Resource AIRR. This sovereign AI capability will launch in early access mode in early 2025, and consists of two AI systems an HPE NVIDEA GPU system at Bristol University and a Dell Intel GPU system at...
Quantum computers have the potential to be faster at solving certain problems, such as optimization problems, than their conventional equivalents [1]. These speedups are made possible by the fact that quantum computers are based on quantum bits (qubits), which may use superposition or entanglement, two peculiar properties of quantum physics. In this work, we explore the quantum gradient...
Quantum computing offers capabilities for simulating complex physical systems. In photonics, it plays a crucial role in modelling the behaviour of both bright laser beams and single-photons that are propagated through the atmosphere, turbid, and other complex media. This can be crucial for applications in fields such as biological imaging, LiDAR, laser light communication and surveillance...
Searching algorithms play a crucial role in quantum computing, enabling the efficient identification of specific elements within large datasets. Grover’s algorithm, a key example, significantly speeds up searches for unstructured data compared to classical methods. Recent advancements have shown the potential of using optical fields as a computational resource to implement Grover’s algorithm,...
Training phase masks for diffractive networks
Diffractive optical networks have been shown to be useful in a wide variety of application in the realms of optical computing and information processing, such as modal sorting and multiplexing. These systems utilise repeated phase modulations to transform a set of input states contained within a particular basis into a set of target states...
Generative AI and NLP solutions are quickly becoming line items in technology roadmaps across private and public sectors. This presentation provides a brief overview of the technology advancements we seek to explore to broaden and uplift sectors as well as some of the challenges generally faced when attempting to adopt these technologies in the real world.
The rapid evolution of digital technologies has transformed leadership dynamics, particularly in fields requiring advanced technological deployment. This is especially critical in South Africa, where advanced technology plays a pivotal role in enabling scientific research, innovation, and socio-economic development. Despite the growing importance of digital leadership, existing research still...
It has been five years since IBM Quantum and the University of Witwatersrand announced their collaboration to bring quantum computing to the African continent. From the start, the goal was to provide much more than quantum hardware and IBM Quantum has made significant contributions to help build the local quantum ecosystem. Reviewing these contributions, what still needs to be done to ensure...
