Physics Colloquium

The last lecture course that Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman gave to students at Caltech was not on physics but on computer science. The first edition of ‘The Feynman Lectures on Computation' was published in 1996 and was an overview of standard and not-so-standard topics in computer science, all given in Feynman's inimitable style.

Although the lectures are now over 20 years old, most of the material is still relevant and interesting, and Feynman's unique philosophy of learning and discovery shines through. For this 25th anniversary, the lectures have been supplemented with an invited chapter from Professor John Preskill on ‘Quantum Computing 40 Years Later' and new chapters on ‘The Future of Computing Beyond Moore's Law' by Dr John Shalf and on ‘Feynman on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning' by Dr Eric Mjolsness, a TA on Feynman's original course.

Tony Hey will begin by giving an overview of Feynman's long-time interest in computing starting with his time at Los Alamos through to his suggestion of simulating physics on a quantum computer at a ‘Physics of Computation Conference at MIT in 1981. John Preskill will then give a talk about the progress towards actually building a quantum computer in the 40 years since Feynman's suggestion.

Join via Zoom:

https://caltech.zoom.us/j/85811994621

Meeting ID: 858 1199 4621

The colloquium is held in Feynman Lecture Hall, 201 E. Bridge.

In person is open to those with a valid Caltech ID.