QuICS Alum Wins Larry S. Davis Doctoral Dissertation Award

A former graduate student in the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS) is being recognized for creating tools that enhance the computational capabilities of quantum systems.

Yuxiang Peng, who graduated from the University of Maryland last spring with his Ph.D. in computer science, is a recipient of the Larry S. Davis Doctoral Dissertation Award, which recognizes dissertations for their technical depth, significance, potential impact and presentation quality.

The award is named for Larry Davis, a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of computer science in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) and a well-known expert in high-performance computing.

In his dissertation, Peng developed languages and built high-assurance compilers to control quantum systems, enabling them to perform computational tasks with certifications such as mechanized proofs and formal theories for quantum compiler rules.

“These tools hold great potential for maximally utilizing the computational power of current and future quantum systems,” says Peng, who will be joining Purdue University as an assistant professor of computer science next fall. “With further progress along this research path, I believe quantum computers could begin delivering practical advantages in real-world problems within the next decade.”

Peng thanks his adviser, Associate Professor of Computer Science Xiaodi Wu, and his colleagues at QuICS for their contributions to his dissertation, “Theoretical and Practical High-Assurance Software Tools for Quantum Applications.”

Wu, who has a dual appointment in UMIACS, emphasized the uniqueness of Peng’s thesis in the field of quantum programming languages and software engineering.

“Not only has he contributed a milestone work demonstrating the feasibility of high-assurance software implementation for realistic quantum applications, but he has also developed novel, and potentially paradigm-shifting, abstractions to leverage resource-constrained near-term quantum computers,” Wu says. “The latter could significantly impact how practical quantum applications are perceived in the next decade.”

—Story by Maria Herd, UMIACS communications group