physics

Simon Devitt

Simon Devitt is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Simon Devitt rather than just read about it. In short: Simon John Devitt (born 17 July 1981) is an Australian theoretical quantum physicist who has worked on large-scale Quantum computing architectures, Quantum network systems design, Quantum programming development and Quantum error correction. In 2022 he was appointed as a member to Australia's National Quantum Advisory Committee.

Key takeaways

Simon Devitt belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Simon Devitt to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Simon Devitt from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Simon John Devitt (born 17 July 1981) is an Australian theoretical quantum physicist who has worked on large-scale Quantum computing architectures, Quantum network systems design, Quantum programming development and Quantum error correction. In 2022 he was appointed as a member to Australia's National Quantum Advisory Committee.

Education Devitt received his BSc (Hons) in Physics from Melbourne University in 2004. He completed his PhD in physics under Lloyd Hollenberg at the Center for Quantum Computation (CQCT) at the University of Melbourne in 2008, with a thesis entitled Quantum information engineering: concepts to quantum technologies. During his Ph.D, Devitt was awarded the Rae and Edith Bennett Travelling Scholarship at the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge, where he worked within the Centre for Quantum Computation, headed by Artur Ekert.

Career and research Following his PhD, Devitt did postdoctoral research at the Japanese National Institute of Informatics in the group of Kae Nemoto, where he was promoted to assistant professor in 2011. Later, in 2014, he took a position of associate professor in physics at Ochanomizu University at the Leading Graduate School Promotion Center. In 2015 he took up a position as senior research scientist at the Japanese National Laboratories, Riken, in the Superconducting Quantum Simulation Research Team, headed by Jaw-Shen Tsai. In 2017, he returned to Australia where he was appointed research fellow for the Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) at Macquarie University and in 2018 he was appointed as lecturer in quantum architectures at the Center for Quantum Software and Information (QSI) at the University of Technology Sydney. In 2020 he was awarded the inaugural Warren prize by the Royal Society of New South Wales for his service to quantum computing development and in 2021 he was elected fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales and the Australian Institute of Physics. In 2022 Devitt was appointed associate professor and research director of the Center for quantum software and information at UTS. Devitt's research has focused on the design of practical large-scale systems architectures for quantum computing and communications system. He published the first architecture, in an atom-optical system, that utilised techniques in topological quantum error correction that could be conceptually scaled to an arbitrary number of encoded qubits. In 2014, in collaboration with NTT Communications and TU Wien, he developed a design for a scalable system using the Nitrogen-vacancy center and in 2017 he developed a large-scale system design for Ion trap quantum computing in collaboration with the University of Sussex. Devitt has also worked in the development of scalable Quantum networks, developing designs for what is now known as 2nd and 3rd generation quantum repeaters and inventing, with scientists in Japan and Australia, a quantum version of Sneakernets. Devitt's recent work has focused largely on developing a software framework for large-scale, error-corrected machines, including methods to map high-level quantum circuits to machine level instructions and how these error-corrected circuits need to be optimised to reduce the resource load on quantum computing hardware. In 2016, he established, with Jared Cole of RMIT University, the first consultancy specialising in quantum technology, which became a founding member of the Spanish based industry group, the Quantum World Association (QWA). He has worked with and advised several companies and government agencies worldwide on quantum technology development, is regularly featured in the popular press, and comments for outlets such as New Scientist and MIT Technology Review on developments in quantum technology research. In 2016, Devitt created and hosts the Meet the meQuanics podcast, where scientists, industry leaders and students discuss issues related to the new quantum technology sector.

Selected publications 20 June 2013 Devitt, S. J; Munro, W. J; Nemoto, K (2013). "Quantum error correction for beginners". Reports on Progress in Physics. 76 (7) 076001. arXiv:0905.2794. Bibcode:2013RPPh...76g6001D. doi:10.1088/0034-4885/76/7/076001. PMID 23787909. S2CID 206021660.. 20 June 2016 Van Meter, R; Devitt, S.J (2016). "The path to scalable distributed quantum computing". Computer. 49 (9): 31–42. arXiv:1605.06951. doi:10.1109/MC.2016.291. S2CID 118421039.. 20 September 2016 Devitt, S. J (2016). "Programming quantum computers using 3-D puzzles, coffee cups, and doughnuts". XRDS: Crossroads, the ACM Magazine for Students. 23 (1): 45–50. arXiv:1609.06628. Bibcode:2016arXiv160906628D. doi:10.1145/2983545. S2CID 12377031.. 1 February 2017 Lekitsch, B; Weidt, S; Fowler, A. G; Molmer, K; Devitt, S. J; Wunderlich, C; Hensinger, W (2017). "Blueprint for a microwave trapped ion quantum computer". Science Advances. 3 (2) e1601540. arXiv:1609.06628. Bibcode:2017SciA....3E1540L. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1601540. PMC 5287699. PMID 28164154.. 7 December 2012 Horsman, C; Fowler, A. G; Devitt, S. J; Van Meter, R (2012). "Surface code quantum computing by lattice surgery". New J. Phys. 14 (12) 123011. arXiv:1111.4022. Bibcode:2012NJPh...14l3011H. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/14/12/123011. S2CID 119212756..

References

External links Simon Devitt: Home page. Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology, Sydney. h-bar: Quantum Consultants..

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Simon Devitt

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Simon Devitt claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Simon Devitt before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Simon Devitt ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Simon Devitt

In research: Simon Devitt appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Simon Devitt in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Simon Devitt is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1981 births, 21st-century Australian physicists, Academic staff of Ochanomizu University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Simon Devitt outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Simon Devitt in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Simon Devitt means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Simon Devitt out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Simon Devitt in simple terms?

Why does Simon Devitt matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Simon Devitt?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Simon Devitt.