Lynn Thoman

I'm Lynn Thoman, and this is Three Takeaways.

On Three Takeaways, I talk with some of the world's best thinkers, business leaders, writers, politicians, newsmakers, and scientists.

Each episode ends with three key takeaways to help us understand the world and maybe even ourselves a little better.

Today I'm excited to be with Andrew Houck.

Andrew is Dean of Princeton's Engineering School and a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

He runs one of the world's leading quantum computing labs.

His work sits at the frontier of what's possible.

And he's building computers that harness the strange rules of quantum physics to solve problems classical computers simply can't touch.

He and his team are working on everything from quantum algorithms to the materials challenges that make these machines.

so difficult to build.

He's working to take quantum computing out of the lab and actually make it work in the real world, where it can be used to potentially design new drugs, create new materials, protect data, power AI, and even potentially give us a new reality.

If you've ever wondered about quantum computing and what it means for the future, Andrew can explain it.

Welcome, Andrew, and thanks so much for joining Three Takeaways today.

Thanks so much for having me here.

It is my pleasure.

When people hear quantum physics, they often imagine something mystical or sci-fi.

What is it actually in plain English?

And these strange quantum rules are rules that govern the universe at the smallest of scales.

And what was the first quantum result that made scientists themselves say, wait, that can't be right?

And that instantaneous linkage between particles can be across vast distances, even across galaxies.