In this race, second place is not an option. Competition between the USA, Great Britain, China, Russia, Japan and other countries for the conquest quantum technologies merciless, as the winner will be able to easily unlock “traditional” encryption and threaten the industrial, military and government infrastructure of their opponents, as well as create inaccessible encryption, thereby creating “unbreakable” communication networks, develop computers and networks that surpass everything we knew today, and all the other benefits of the brave new world that quantum computing promises.

Of course, the most exciting races are those in which we participate. “But we’re fast asleep” as he jokingly says ink” one of the leading Greek scientists, professor at the Department of Mathematics at AUTH John Antoniou. So far, our country remains only an observer of the turbulent events on the world chessboard with all the ensuing consequences. Characteristically, the 2nd quantum revolution of entanglement – we will return to it below – is completely absent in school material. It was after such a discussion with high school teacher friends that Mr. Antóniou began to think about how the academic community could help. Like so… puff it up WAVE or another program Quantum computing for students, an innovative initiative to introduce high school students to the core concepts and practices of quantum computing. The program involved 119 students from 21 schools in Central Macedonia and Central Greece who attended 20 two-hour Saturday lectures remotely between November 12, 2022 and April 29, 2023. Student response exceeded expectations.

“Children understood exactly where we are better than we do, they have a quantum intuition,” comments Mr. Antoniou, who, together with Professor Dimitrios Poulakis Department of Mathematics, AUTI, Professor Stavros Stavrinidis and Associate Professor Michalis Hanias from the Laboratory of Solid State Physics, Electronics and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Physics at the International University of Greece, provided scientific guidance to the program. Coordinators of the educational project were selected on their side Dr. C. Anesthopoulos, Dr. P. Venardos and Dr. A. Evagelopoulos20 mathematicians from secondary education and three PhDs, in a synergy model between higher and secondary education.

“The program acts as a guide to the “quantum literacy” of a new generation who will live in a completely different technological environment,” – says Mr. Stavrinidis “K”.. According to him, the time is not far off when understanding the concept and properties of “quantum information” will become a necessary condition for the professional, scientific and even social existence of citizens. “It is no coincidence that President Biden organized quantum computing research under the direct supervision of the White House and recently invited young scientists from around the world to contribute to relevant programs.” Recall that the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2022 was awarded jointly to scientists Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Cheilinger for their pioneering research in the field of quantum information through the use of entanglement. Events go beyond common sense, but the key word is confusion. Professor Antóniou explains: “Until 1980, the quantum theory known to all of us was a tool for calculating the structure of atoms and molecules. It was the theory that gave the best predictions, errors in the 5th and 6th decimal places. But along with quantum theory, there was also a mysterious phenomenon, entanglement, which practically means that if two particles split at the same time and one is on Mars and the other is here, then there is a statistical memory of this entanglement, which allows us, by measuring one on Earth, to see what he does to others on Mars. When someone hears this, it sounds absurd, exotic. Einstein called it “spooky”. A story about alienated people. To verify this, many experiments had to be carried out. Everyone checked her out. It was an inevitable reality. We respect Einstein, but we respect what we observe more, which is why humanity has created quantum processors based on entanglement.”

Quantum computers can do things that were previously impossible. Encryption number one. “Quantum encryption is impossible to crack. It breaks, but once you break it, the other person will notice because of the confusion. What we are living is the second revolution of quantum mechanics. The Chinese have found entanglement between the Earth and the satellite. Today they have a secure fiber optic link that cannot be hacked. These communications are not available.” Large financial companies have teams working on quantum computers, while pharmaceutical companies develop drugs after quantum computer simulations, he said. “Humanity has already embarked on a path that changes everything. What we knew about computers and networks 10 years ago is outdated.”

KYMA will continue next year but expand to a nationwide level.