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| Preskill, John | |
|---|---|
| Name | John Preskill |
| Birth date | 1953 |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Theoretical physics, Quantum information |
| Workplaces | California Institute of Technology, Institute for Advanced Study, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory |
| Alma mater | Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Doctoral advisor | Steven Weinberg |
| Known for | Quantum error correction, Quantum supremacy, Topological quantum computation |
Preskill, John John Preskill is an American theoretical physicist and information theorist known for foundational work at the intersection of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and quantum computation. He is best known for advancing quantum error correction, introducing concepts that connect topological order, anyon physics, and fault-tolerant architectures for quantum computers. Preskill has held prominent positions in leading institutions and has influenced research, pedagogy, and policy in the field of quantum information science.
Preskill was born in 1953 and completed undergraduate and graduate studies at Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied under Steven Weinberg. During his doctoral work he engaged with topics related to quantum field theory and particle physics, interacting with faculty and researchers associated with Harvard University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, Yale University, and Columbia University. His early formation included exposure to developments at Fermilab, CERN, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and contemporary debates shaped by figures such as Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Gerard 't Hooft, and Edward Witten.
Preskill joined the faculty at California Institute of Technology and has been associated with research centers including the Institute for Advanced Study and collaborations with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. His career trajectory connected him to departments and programs at Harvard University, MIT, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He has participated in conferences hosted by American Physical Society, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, National Academy of Sciences, Royal Society, and institutions such as Los Alamos National Laboratory and Bell Laboratories. Preskill has served as a visiting scholar at Oxford University, Cambridge University, École Normale Supérieure, and University of Tokyo.
Preskill’s research forged links among topological quantum computation, quantum error correction, entanglement entropy, AdS/CFT correspondence, and the physics of black holes. He co-developed theoretical frameworks that connect anyon braiding from fractional quantum Hall effect systems to fault-tolerant logical qubits in proposals influenced by Alexei Kitaev, Michael Freedman, and Serguei Bravyi. Preskill helped formalize thresholds for fault-tolerant quantum computation building on work by Peter Shor, Andrew Steane, Daniel Gottesman, and John Martinis. He introduced and popularized terminology around quantum computational milestones such as quantum supremacy and engaged with complexity-theoretic interactions involving Bennett–Bernstein–Brassard–Vazirani-style protocols, Shor's algorithm, and Grover's algorithm. His writings analyzed information paradoxes involving Stephen Hawking, Leonard Susskind, and Juan Maldacena and explored how quantum information notions like entanglement wedge reconstruction and quantum error-correcting codes illuminate black hole complementarity. Preskill’s work interfaced with condensed matter advances including Kitaev chain, toric code, Majorana fermion proposals, spin liquids, and experimental platforms pursued by teams at IBM, Google Quantum AI, Rigetti Computing, IonQ, and Honeywell Quantum Solutions.
Preskill’s contributions have been recognized by membership and awards from bodies such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, and prizes conferred by organizations including the American Physical Society and foundations linked to Guggenheim Fellowship-level support. He has been invited to deliver named lectures at venues like the Royal Institution, Perimeter Institute, Max Planck Institute, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, and international colloquia at CERN and SLAC. His papers and review articles are widely cited in literature alongside works by Wojciech Zurek, Charles Bennett, Gilles Brassard, Asher Peres, and Robert J. Glauber.
At California Institute of Technology, Preskill taught courses connecting quantum mechanics to quantum information science and supervised graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have gone on to positions at Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, MIT, University of California, Berkeley, Perimeter Institute, Google Quantum AI, IBM Research, Microsoft Research, and start-ups in the quantum technology sector. His mentorship network includes collaborations with researchers from Cornell University, University of Maryland, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and University of Waterloo. He has co-advised theses engaging with topics pioneered by Alexei Kitaev, Michael Nielsen, Ike Chuang, and Dan Gottesman.
Preskill has engaged policymakers and the public through talks and advisory roles interfacing with National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, European Commission, and national research initiatives in United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Japan. He has presented to audiences at TED, major scientific symposia such as the Solvay Conference, and public dialogues involving figures like Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. Preskill’s essays and lectures have informed reporting in outlets covering breakthroughs by Google, IBM, D-Wave Systems, and university consortia pursuing national quantum strategies in countries including China and Australia.
Category:American physicists Category:Quantum information scientists Category:California Institute of Technology faculty