632nm

Would we get a quantum computer sooner if everything was open source?

In this episode, we speak with Austin Fowler, one of the architects of quantum error correction and a pioneer of the surface code used in today’s leading quantum computers. Fowler helped lay the groundwork for scalable, fault-tolerant computation at Google Quantum AI, before leaving to advocate for a more open and collaborative model of research.

He explains why building a useful quantum computer will require millions of reliable qubits, why no known algorithm yet clearly outperforms classical computation, and why the field’s current competitive funding model may be slowing progress instead of accelerating it. From the engineering challenges of superconducting qubits to the economics of global research, Fowler offers a candid, inside look at the state of quantum technology.

We explore the history and promise of quantum error correction, the software bottlenecks that still stand in the way, and how an open-source, international approach — modeled on CERN or the International Space Station — could transform the field. Along the way, Fowler reflects on his time at Google, the importance of collaboration, and what it will really take to make quantum computing practical.

Whether you’re interested in quantum hardware, physics, computer science, or research policy, this conversation reveals the technical, ethical, and economic realities behind one of today’s most ambitious scientific pursuits.

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Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: [https://www.632nm.com](https://www.632nm.com/)

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:40 - Austin’s Longevity in Quantum
02:31 - What’s the Goal of Quantum Computing?
05:01 - Creating Fault-Tolerant Qubits
06:55 - Advantages of 2D Surface Code
08:47 - Austin’s Journey into Quantum
16:32 - Working at Google
20:14 - Alternatives to Surface Codes
22:18 - Should Quantum Computing Be Open Source?
25:20 - Quantum Computing is Eating Itself
30:52 - Open Source as a Mission
35:46 - Advice for People Getting into TQEC
39:03 - Bit Flips vs Phase Flips
45:43 - History of Surface Codes
49:05 - From Surface Code to Fault Tolerance
57:19 - What Software do Quantum Computers Need?
1:00:17 - Quantum vs Classical Error Correction
1:05:57 - Manufacturing Superconducting Qubits
1:12:02 - Noise Models in Software
1:21:21 - How do NISQ Experiments help us Build Better Computers?
1:24:01 - State of the Art Topological QEC
1:31:38 - How did the TQEC Community Begin?
1:34:46 - Future of TQEC
1:36:03 - Quantum AI
1:37:58 - Advice for Young Scientists
1:41:35 - Underrated Quantum Research
1:47:21 - What are the Most Important Upcoming Developments?

Why is syncing atomic clocks still one of the hardest problems in physics and engineering?

In this episode, we speak with Judah Levine—legendary NIST physicist and one of the key architects of modern timekeeping—about the invisible systems that hold the digital world together. Levine explains why synchronizing atomic clocks across the planet is far more complex than the clocks themselves, and why seemingly simple ideas like “round-trip delay” break down in real-world media such as fiber optics and the internet.

We explore how UTC is built from hundreds of atomic clocks, the difference between keeping time and *transferring* time, and the surprising challenges introduced by asymmetric delays, chromatic dispersion, and environmental noise. Levine walks us through the evolution of cesium clocks, the rise of optical clocks, and the technologies that make GPS, finance, power grids, and global communication possible.

Along the way, we discuss the history of time synchronization, from railroad schedules to radio frequencies to modern satellite systems; the ongoing debate over leap seconds; and why the future of precision timing depends not just on better clocks, but on better *engineering* to deliver those clocks’ performance to the real world.

Whether you’re curious about atomic clocks, relativity, fiber optics, GPS, the structure of time itself, or the hidden physics behind everyday technology, this conversation offers a rare look at how science, engineering, and careful statistical thinking keep modern civilization in sync—down to the nanosecond.

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Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/

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Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: [https://www.632nm.com](https://www.632nm.com/)

Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:03 – What is UTC?
05:50 – Timekeeping for Satellites
07:08 – How Radio Created Better Clocks
18:32 – From Astronomy to Atoms
25:25 – Why are there 24 Hours in a Day?
29:55 – Why Synchronizing Clocks is so Hard
47:09 – How did Judah get into Clocks?
53:29 – Is UTC Vulnerable to Hackers?
1:06:41 – Cesium vs Optical Atomic Clocks
1:11:23 – How Cesium Clocks Work
1:23:35 – Why Cesium Clocks are Imperfect
1:26:17 – Judah’s 3 Year Experiment
1:29:30 – Statistics with Clocks
1:33:40 – Is Time Real?
1:36:29 – Is the Universe Slowing Down?
1:40:29 – Atomic Time and General Relativity
1:42:17 – What’s Left for Atomic Clocks?
1:54:34 – What would Judah do with Unlimited Funding?
1:58:57 – Judah's Past in Programming
2:02:55 – Advice for Young Scientists

Why do civilizations rise, prosper, and then collapse? Here's what the math tells us.

In this episode, we sit down with Peter Turchin, complexity scientist and founder of the field of cliodynamics, which uses data and mathematical models to study the long-term cycles of history. Turchin explains his theory of elite overproduction, how societies generate too many ambitious, educated elites competing for too few positions, and why this dynamic reliably leads to polarization, inequality, and political turmoil.

We explore how his structural-demographic theory maps the recurring “boom and bust” rhythms that have shaped civilizations from ancient Rome to modern America, the role of military competition in driving cooperation and social complexity, and how new tools—from AI-assisted historical databases to ancient DNA and LiDAR—are transforming the study of the past.

Whether you’re drawn to history, sociology, complexity science, or the fate of modern democracies, this conversation reveals how Turchin’s quantitative approach offers a new way to understand—and maybe even forecast—the forces that make societies rise and fall.

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/about/
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Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: https://www.632nm.com

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:48 - Overproduction of Elites
10:56 - Did Models Predict the Rise of Trump?
20:43 - Is Russian History Repeating in the US?
26:48 - How Competition Stabilizes Societies
32:14 - What Data Goes into Cliodynamic Models?
38:13 - How New Technologies Shaped Archaeology
43:28 - Can Historians Build Mathematical Intuitions?
47:59 - What Questions can be Answered with Cliodynamics?
52:23 - Does the NYC Mayoral Race Fit into Turchin's Theory?
56:37 - Is Fear of China Bringing Us Together?
58:29 - Do Historians Reject Turchin’s Work?
1:00:03 - Trends in Civilizations and Outliers
1:03:29 - Calvary and the Evolution of Societies
1:10:03 - Is Evolution via Natural Selection a Suitable Analog for History?
1:15:16 - Could Turchin's Ideas Be Misinterpreted Dangerously?

You can’t copy a qubit. So how do quantum computers remember anything?

In this episode, we sit down with Mikhail Lukin, Harvard physicist and co-director of the Harvard Quantum Initiative, whose lab is building quantum computers from arrays of individually trapped atoms. Lukin explains the paradox of quantum error correction—how you can safeguard quantum information even though it can’t be copied or measured directly—and why this breakthrough may be the key to making large-scale quantum computers possible.

We dive into the strange logic of superposition, entanglement, and “small cat states,” explore what makes quantum evolution inherently analog, and learn how Lukin’s team uses optical tweezers and Rydberg interactions to engineer stable, reconfigurable qubits—atoms literally held and moved by light.

Whether you’re fascinated by quantum mechanics, computing, Schrödinger’s cat, or the future of information, this conversation reveals how physicists are turning the weirdness of quantum physics into working technology—and why building a fault-tolerant quantum computer is one of the hardest and most exciting challenges in science today.

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Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: https://www.632nm.com

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:32 - Fundamentals of Quantum Computers
04:09 - Transistors vs Quantum Gates
10:07 - What is Quantum Error Correction?
14:23 - State of the Art QEC
22:19 - Quantum Research Before Lukin
27:35 - Lukin’s Breakout Work
31:10 - From Quantum Optics to Quantum Computing
36:59 - Working with Neutral Atoms
48:17 - Funding Quantum Computers
50:00 - Transverse Gate Operations
58:22 - Is Quantum Computing All Hype?

#quantumcomputing #quantumerrorcorrection #mikhaillukin #qubits  #schrodingerscat  #entanglement #superposition #quantumphysics

The scientific stories behind this year's research that made people LAUGH, then THINK.

Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4

In this episode, we bring together three of this year’s Ig Nobel winners whose research spans psychology, food science and human biology. You’ll hear how a team of psychologists devised a counter-intuitive way to boost a narcissist’s self-confidence; how two physicists uncovered the “mozzarella phase” of pecorino cheese while perfecting cacio e pepe; and how a group studying lactation discovered that garlic changes breast-milk’s aroma and baby behavior.

We explore the playful setups, surprising results and serious science behind each project, and how curiosity, humor and a dash of persistence turned ordinary questions into prize-winning research.

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Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/

Follow our hosts!
Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: https://www.632nm.com

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:19 - Physics Prize: Cacio e Pepe Sauce
30:40 - Pediatrics Prize: Garlic Breast Milk
44:48 - Psychology Prize: How to Boost Narcissism

#ignobel2025 #cacioepepe #pastasauce #thermodynamics  #psychology  #dairy #pecorino

Science has stalled. And Adam Marblestone thinks he knows why.

Check out the Research Gap Map here: https://www.gap-map.org/?sort=rank

In this episode, we sit down with Adam Marblestone, neuroscientist, nanotechnologist, and founder of Convergent Research, to explore how new “Focused Research Organizations” (FROs) could reignite scientific progress. From DNA “ticker-tape” neural recording to optical connectomics and Neuralink, Marblestone explains how emerging neurotechnologies reveal both the brilliance and the bottlenecks of today’s research system.

We discuss why traditional funding often fails to support ambitious, interdisciplinary projects, how FROs borrow the focus and speed of startups to build scientific infrastructure, and why projects like OpenAI, E11 Bio, and ultrasound-on-a-chip exemplify this new model. Marblestone breaks down his “Gap Map” of unsolved scientific challenges - from room-temperature superconductors to artificial ribosomes - and does the math on how tens of billions of dollars could close them.

Whether you’re fascinated by neuroscience, scientific innovation, or the future of research itself, this conversation offers a rare insider’s look at how new institutions could rebuild the engine of discovery—and why the next wave of breakthroughs might depend more on organization than on ideas.

Follow us for more technical interviews with the world’s greatest scientists:
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/about/
Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/

Follow our hosts!
Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: https://www.632nm.com

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:25 - Working with George Church
13:03 - Neuralink
22:23 - Gap Maps
31:47 - Artificial Ribosome
36:45 - What is Convergent Research?
40:03 - What are FROs?
44:16 - What Made OpenAI So Successful?
48:19 - Has AI Actually Impacted Science?
52:15 - Notable FROs
1:05:43 - Why Haven't There Been More Scientific Breakthroughs?
1:09:47 - Lithography and Chip Design
1:13:41 - We Can't Beat Insects
1:16:45 - What Separates Good FROs
1:18:40 - East vs West Coast Innovation
1:27:21 - Research into Longevity
1:33:27 - Advice for Grad Students
1:39:40 - How to Get Involved in FROs

#neuroscience #molecularbiology #quantumphysics #researchfunding #startups

Cheese is serious stuff. The physics behind cacio e pepe.

Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4

In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Busiello and Ivan Di Terlizzi, physicists whose playful kitchen experiments on the classic Roman pasta dish cacio e pepe just earned them the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize. What started as a Friday-night cooking ritual turned into a full-blown study of the “mozzarella phase” of pecorino cheese — revealing how heat, proteins, and stabilizers drive sauce breakdown and mimic the phase transitions seen in labs and nature.

We explore how their simple setup — a sous-vide bath, a pan, and a smartphone — let them quantify clump sizes, why starch or trisodium citrate can stabilize emulsions, and what this says about statistical mechanics, protein aggregation, and gene-expression dynamics. Busiello and Di Terlizzi. also share their paths from reading about relativity in high school to running research groups, and what it’s like to go viral with a “night-science” project.

Whether you’re curious about pasta, phase diagrams, quirky science experiments or the hidden laws of nature, this conversation offers a rare insider’s look at how everyday cooking can illuminate physics.

Follow us for more technical interviews with the world’s greatest scientists:

Twitter: https://x.com/632nmPodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/632nmpodcast?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/about/
Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/

Follow our hosts!
Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: https://www.632nm.com

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:12 - From Hobbyist to Ig Nobel Laureate
06:33 - Methodology of the Experiment
13:31 - How to Avoid the Mozzarella Phase
19:10 - Career Trajectories
24:44 - Who is the Greatest Italian Scientist?
25:40 - Lesser Known Works
28:05 - Measuring Heat Flow in Red Blood Cells

#ignobel2025 #cacioepepe #pastasauce #thermodynamics  #phasetransitions #dairy #pecorino

Your milk tastes like garlic. And babies love it.

Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4

In this episode, we sit down with Julie Mennella and Gary Beauchamp, winners of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize and longtime researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, whose experiments revealed that the flavors mothers eat—from garlic and carrots to alcohol—can pass into amniotic fluid and breast milk, shaping babies’ earliest taste experiences. Their work overturns decades of advice that breastfeeding diets should be bland and shows how infants actually savor these flavors instead of rejecting them.

We explore how prenatal and early-life exposure to flavors can increase children’s acceptance of fruits and vegetables, what this means for formula design and picky eating, and the deep emotional link between smell, comfort, and lifelong food preferences. Mennella and Beauchamp also share stories from three decades of sensory-science research, from dairy cows and juniper berries to randomized carrot-juice trials in pregnant women, and reflect on why their “funny” Ig Nobel-winning work carries serious implications for public health.

Follow us for more technical interviews with the world’s greatest scientists:

Twitter: https://x.com/632nmPodcast
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/about/
Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/

Follow our hosts!
Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: https://www.632nm.com

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:38 -  What Sparked Interest in Mammalian Taste?
02:57 - Myths Around Garlic and Breastfeeding
04:41 - Garlic in Dairy Cows
06:50 - Should We Revamp Baby Formula?
08:09 - Other Foods and Other Animals
11:17 - Neural Pathways for Taste and Emotion

#ignobel2025 #pediatrics #garlic #behavioralscience #breastfeeding #dairy

What happens to our sense of self when someone tells us we’re smart—or not so smart?

Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4

In this episode, we sit down with Marcin Zajenkowski, professor of psychology at the University of Warsaw and co-winner of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize in Psychology, for his study on how intelligence feedback affects temporary narcissism. Along with his collaborator Gilles Gignac of the University of Western Australia, Zajenkowski showed that telling people they’re above average on an IQ test can boost their feelings of uniqueness and specialness—while negative feedback can dramatically lower their self-assessed intelligence.

We explore how the team designed their experiment using real tests but fake feedback, what their findings reveal about everyday praise and criticism (from classrooms to parenting), and why “intelligence” carries a special weight compared with traits like empathy or emotional intelligence. Zajenkowski also explains how trait narcissism can act as a shield against negative feedback, how imposter syndrome fits on the other side of the spectrum, and what his research suggests about staying realistically positive without tipping into self-delusion.

Whether you’re curious about psychology, narcissism, intelligence testing, education, or the quirks of human self-perception, this conversation offers a rare insider’s look at an award-winning experiment on how a few simple words can shift how special we feel.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:45 - Study Design and Background

05:33 - Implications for the Education System

09:50 - Why are People So Defensive About Intelligence?

12:57 - Do Depressed People Reaffirm the Negative?

15:11 - Are Americans Too Positive?

18:43 - Couples and Mate Selection

Times have changed. And cesium clocks can't keep up.

In this episode, we sit down with Jun Ye, Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) Fellow and pioneer of optical lattice clocks, whose work has pushed timekeeping far beyond traditional cesium atomic clocks. Ye explains how combining ultra-stable lasers, frequency combs, and ultra-cold atoms produces clocks more than 100× more precise than today’s standards: so sensitive they can detect gravitational time dilation across the width of a human hair.

We explore how this next generation of atomic clocks may open windows onto gravitational waves, test Einstein’s relativity in new regimes, and even help build a GPS for space travel. Ye also shares his personal journey from growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution to becoming a leader in precision measurement, and what that experience taught him about resilience, mentorship, and protecting scientific inquiry.

Whether you’re curious about time, relativity, quantum physics, GPS technology, or the frontiers of precision measurement, this conversation offers a rare insider’s look at how breakthroughs in timekeeping can lead to entirely new physics.

Follow us for more technical interviews with the world’s greatest scientists:

Twitter: https://x.com/632nmPodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/632nmpodcast?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/632nm/about/
Substack: https://632nmpodcast.substack.com/

Follow our hosts!
Michael Dubrovsky: https://x.com/MikeDubrovsky
Misha Shalaginov: https://x.com/MYShalaginov
Xinghui Yin: https://x.com/XinghuiYin

Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/632nm/id1751170269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aVH9vT5qp5UUUvQ6Uf6OR
Website: https://www.632nm.com

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:17 - Why Haven't Optical Clocks Replaced Cesium Clocks?
10:45 - Fundamentals of Optical Atomic Clocks
17:34 - History of Atomic Clocks
30:18 - What is JILA?
35:01 - What brought Jun to JILA?
39:33 - What does it take to get a PhD in Physics?
42:40 - Jun Ye's PhD work
44:36 - Limitations of Laser Stabilization
50:38 - How Do We Make the Most Stable Lasers?
57:28 - How to Measure Laser Coherence Times
1:04:24 - Building Atomic Clocks from First Principles
1:08:59 - Jun's Notable Accomplishments
1:14:00 - Magic Frequencies for Optical Traps
1:21:04 - Can AI Improve Atomic Clocks?
1:24:00 - How Does Quantum Entanglement Affect Clocks?
1:30:29 - Development of Quantum Computers
1:34:23 - Pros and Cons of Nuclear Clocks
1:43:49 - What Would Jun Do With Unlimited Research Funding?
1:47:09 - Lessons from China's Cultural Revolution

#quantumcomputing #quantumphysics #atomicclock #laser #physics #optics #astrophysics #astronomy #spacetime