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Mosca explores parallel universes Photo: Ron Hewson The travellers who pass freely between worlds are an adventurous few. Mike Mosca, a graduate of St. Jerome's and now an assistant professor of mathematics at St. Jerome's with a cross-appointment to the Combinatorics and Optimization department on the main campus, is one of them. As a specialist in quantum computing, his comfort level with "parallel universes" is fairly high. Mosca's current research, for which he recently received a Premier's Research Excellence Award, focuses on the capabilities of quantum computers. Conventional computing is based on classical physics, the one-two of its binary code corresponding to the on-off of an electrical switch. Quantum computing is based on quantum physics, on how nature works at the atomic level. Mosca estimates that a full-scale quantum computer is still at least 20 years away. Prototypes already exist, but they bear no resemblance to the machine on your desk. A quantum computer may consist of a collection of hydrogen atoms in which the code is spelled out by the orientation of the magnetic spin of the proton (which can be changed with radio frequency pulses) or by whether the electrons are circling the atom in either of two patterns. "We can exploit the processing power of the parallel universes in quantum systems to solve problems that were once believed to be intractable," Mosca says, such as the problem of dividing a very large number into its factors. Because the two patterns of each electron can apparently exist together at once, and because each added electron doubles the capacity of the quantum computer, a collection of 50 or 100 electrons would increase computing power trillions of trillions of times--conservatively speaking. Which means that cryptographic systems based on the problems of working with very large numbers could eventually be obsolete. Mosca moved into quantum computing through the side door of cryptography. In the early '90s he was an undergrad living in residence at St. Jerome's. He was a prefect in fourth year and won a College Life Award, as well as the Alumni Gold Medal for highest standing in mathematics when he graduated in 1995. For two summers he worked as an undergraduate research assistant with Scott Vanstone and Ron Mullin's cryptography group. "We asked Mike to work on problems that are typically assigned to graduate students," Vanstone says. Mosca's work with Vanstone and Mullin convinced him to pursue graduate studies in cryptography, combinatorics, and number theory at Oxford, where he went on a Commonwealth Scholarship. Oxford was a growth experience in more ways than one. Six o'clock in the morning, not a time he normally liked to be up, often found Mosca out on the river, coxing for a team of eight rowers. As he describes it, coxing is a mathematical sport. "It's multi-tasking. You have to keep eight blades all moving in time, keep the crew motivated, steer, and look out for other boats. And it's a four-dimensional sport, because you won't see the effect of any calls you make until two or three strokes later." At Oxford his ideas expanded as well. At that time quantum computing was hardly a realistic field of study: many people thought it was technologically impossible. "Then I learned of discoveries that meant quantum computing was possible. It just wasn't feasible--yet. The technology is still some years off." Although he could have stayed at Oxford as a junior research fellow, he returned to Waterloo and St. Jerome's in 1999, partly because this is home, and partly because the students and math research groups here are considered among the world's best. He divides his teaching time between the main campus and St. Jerome's, where he likes the small classes and the fact that he can emerge from the world of math and meet people in other fields. And St. Jerome's was happy to have him back. "There are several qualities that Mike possesses that make him attractive for St. Jerome's," comments President Michael Higgins. "His approachable and easy way with people, his sharp and exploratory intelligence, his confident and articulate approach to complex issues, his passion for learning, and his interest in wholeness--intellectual and spiritual." That wholeness encompasses language, which Mosca finds almost as absorbing as math. "Perhaps because I grew up speaking Abruzzese (a dialect from central Italy) and English, it was easy for me to pick up other languages." He picked up Italian and French as well as some Spanish, German, Hungarian, and Latin. "I'm interested in connections between languages, the origins of words, and trying to decipher new languages.... I like talking to people who speak other languages. You look for the patterns, you apply logic and use your intuition." Much like solving a problem in cryptography. He adds, "I always thought that in mathematics, intuition was my strength." Intuition may not sound like a mathematical skill, but it's highly useful in a field that was considered barely within the realm of possibility a few years ago. "Most of the basic questions about quantum computing haven't been asked yet, let alone answered." It's whole new world. St. Jerome's University Volume 18 Number 2 Fall/Winter 2000 St. Jerome's grad Mike Mosca, now an assistant professor of mathematics at St. Jerome's with a cross-appointment to the Combinatorics and Optimization department on the main campus, is comfortable on either side of the creek.