The Quantum Collective - Michael Hanks

The Quantum Collective: The people behind the science

With a background that began in the very practical world of engineering and physics, Dr Michael Hanks, a QCS Hub researcher at Imperial College London, brings a unique perspective to his work in the theoretical foundations of quantum computing.

It was during his undergraduate studies that he first became captivated by the intersection of mathematical concepts and real-world implementation. "It's always seemed exciting to me when you can find an abstract mathematical description that provides a new perspective on a useful practical application," he reflects. This fascination led him from engineering to the more abstract realm of quantum mechanics and eventually to quantum computing. His current research focuses on quantum error correction, a critical area in the development of practical quantum computers.

When asked by people outside of academia what he does, Michael has a measured approach. "Usually I just say research and then see, you know, whether there are any follow-up questions or if it was just small talk," he explains. For those who show more interest, he delves deeper: "If they're still interested, then the explanation I give is that when things are very small, they behave in different and in strange ways, and so the field of quantum computing is all about trying to exploit this strange behaviour to compute things more efficiently."

Michael's work involves developing methods to protect quantum information from errors that naturally occur in quantum systems. "Generally, when things are super small, they're super fragile," he explains. "We need ways to figure out when faults occur and to put our computations back on course."

When asked about the most exciting aspects of quantum computing, Michael points to the field's implicit bias toward practical application. "Things can sometimes become highly abstract, especially when you're reading more mathematical quantum information and quantum theory papers. When you're dealing with quantum computing though, it's never that far removed. You can always see, under the right circumstances, how a work might actually be useful."

Being part of the Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub offers significant advantages to his research, particularly in terms of networking opportunities he says, and especially in the way it brings together researchers from various institutions who might otherwise rarely interact due to geographical distances. "At least once or twice a year, [the Hub] brings everybody into one place and has them share what they're up to," he notes. He recalls a surprising discovery at a recent project meeting, talking to Dominik Leichtle of the University of Edinburgh. "I was surprised to discover that he's working on something (even though he comes at it from the cryptographic perspective) very closely related to what we're interested in." These connections and unexpected overlaps in research interests make the Hub particularly valuable to him and his colleagues.

Michael's career has taken him across the globe. After completing his undergraduate degree in Auckland, New Zealand, he moved to Tokyo to pursue his PhD at the National Institute of Informatics. "Japan's the sort of place where, when you first move there as a young man, it almost seems like a bit of a theme park," he recalls. "Of course, over time, the novelty of that sort wears off as you form social connections and settle into normal daily life." His time in Tokyo left a lasting impression. "Basically, if there's anything you're interested in, you can probably find it represented somewhere in Tokyo. It's just such a massive, almost self-contained cultural ecosystem," he says. He also learned some Japanese during his time there, gaining enough proficiency to handle daily life and simple conversations.

I was able to draw from ideas that I'd learned studying quantum error correction and apply them to something that at first glance doesn't seem too related.

From Tokyo, he made his way to London, joining Imperial College during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He appreciates the vibrant research community and the opportunities for collaboration that the city offers. "My favourite aspect is probably all the different things always going on in London," he says. "You start discovering little things... maybe restaurants, maybe you're the sort of person who likes to go to plays or see operas or something like that. Just little things that you can go and explore, and in London you never run out of new interesting little discoveries."

In his work, he is particularly proud of two recent projects. The first involved using the ZX calculus to simplify decoding circuits for error correction and magic state distillation. This work led to an important realisation about the connection between braided and lattice surgery surface code computation, two different methods of managing quantum errors. "Previously, I'd always really considered these as separate paradigms of surface code quantum computing," he explains. "It wasn't until we started applying the ZX calculus in the way we did in that work that I realized, under some circumstances, that it's possible to move fluidly between the two as one or the other becomes more efficient." The second project focused on representing the effects of noise on quantum states using 'spin Wigner functions'.  "What made me happy about that one is that I was able to draw from ideas that I'd learned studying quantum error correction and apply them to something that at first glance doesn't seem too related."

As quantum computing continues to evolve, researchers like Michael are at the forefront, working to turn abstract concepts into practical realities. With his global experience and interdisciplinary background, he is well-positioned to contribute to the next big breakthroughs in this exciting field.