Konrad Zuse Youth Prize for Computer Science from the Eduard Rhein Foundation: Simulated quantum computer
Quantum computers are considered to be the miracle machines of the future. They are expected to perform route calculations, material simulations and database searches much faster than before. However, the current prototypes are not yet powerful enough and the hardware is lacking. This is why quantum software is often developed on ordinary computers. The conventional PC then pretends to be a quantum machine. Jonas Müller was able to optimise this approach: Instead of simulating the quantum circuits using software alone, he utilised a special type of microchip (field-programmable gate arrays). Their components can be flexibly combined with each other like Lego bricks, allowing the component to be easily customised to a specific task. This enabled the young researcher to simulate quantum algorithms efficiently and quickly.