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John Preskill

1953 – present · quantum computing, quantum information, quantum gravity
American theoretical physicist, one of the pioneers of quantum information and quantum computing. He coined the term 'quantum supremacy' and described the stages of development of quantum technologies. Known for his work on topological quantum computing, quantum error correction, and the connection between black holes and quantum information.

Biography

Studied at Princeton (undergraduate) and Harvard (PhD). Professor at the California Institute of Technology, where he directs the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter. Actively popularizes science, gives a famous lecture course and runs the blog 'Quantum Frontiers'.

Key discoveries

💡 Preskill is known for losing a bet with a colleague (Stephen Jordan) about the achievement of quantum supremacy, but actively promotes the event, hailing it as a great achievement.
"He said that we are at the dawn of the quantum era — a time when we are learning to control complex quantum systems, possibly the most important frontier of modern science."
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Scientists
Fritz ZwickyJacob BekensteinSubrahmanyan ChandrasekharRainer WeissCharles TownesStephen HawkingAlain AspectKarl Schwarzschild

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