Qin Li, Xiangtan University, China

Qin Li received her Bachelor degree and PhD degree both in Computer Science from Hunan Normal University, China in 2005 and Sun Yat-sen University, China in 2010, respectively. Since 2010, she been at Xiangtan University, China and become a professor in 2019. Prof. Qin Li has published more than fifty technical papers on quantum computation and quantum cryptography. At present her research interests are secure delated quantum computation, quantum algorithm, and quantum artificial intelligence.

What is the focus of your research at the moment?
I mainly focus on secure delegated quantum computation which is a combination of quantum cryptography and quantum computation. It needs a lot of money to build and maintain quantum computers so even if the first-generation practical quantum computers can be built in the future, they are most likely to be held by governments, big companies or academics institutions. Others may need to access them in a remote way. This is why it is important to protect the privacy of users when they delegate their tasks to quantum servers.

What do you consider to be the biggest advancement in quantum science to date?
For this question, maybe different persons have different opinions. I tend to consider that the quantum algorithms for factorizing big integers and solving discrete logarithm problems as proposed by Peter Shor as the biggest advancement in quantum science to date. There are no good candidates now if typical classical algorithms such as RSA are broken.

In your opinion, what could be the next big breakthrough for the field of quantum science and technology?
It is hard to predict. If I must say, I think the next big breakthrough may be to really solve a practical problem in a certain field on a specialized quantum computer. So it needs combined efforts of researchers and engineers in various fields.

What role does the journal Physica Scripta play in supporting research in the field?
Physica Scripta covers lots of topics in physics including quantum mechanics. Some readers or researchers who published their papers on it may have more of a general physics background therefore giving researchers who are interested in quantum science and technology more details about the recent developments in this area from a physics perspective. In fact, Physcia Scripta also can support the research in this field by designing special issues on quantum science and technology for researchers of different fields and promote cross-field communication and interdisciplinary interactions.