Mathematics for Quantum Era Security and Trust

Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series: Mathematics for Quantum Era Security and Trust

Professor Nalini Joshi AO
Chair of Applied Mathematics, the University of Sydney and
2025 NSW Scientist of the Year

When powerful quantum computers are operational, smartphones in our pockets will be replaced by quantum devices, cash will be replaced by quantum money, and new products to drive our vehicles, fertilise our crops and improve our health will be found in ways we cannot yet imagine.

This promise has resulted in companies and governments across the world significantly increasing their investments in quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

But meeting this demand presents diabolical challenges. A looming problem is that powerful quantum computers will be able to break widely used cryptographic protocols. The Australian Signals Directorate has recommended that the current protocols used in billions of digital transactions a day be removed and replaced by new ones by 2030. But the recommended algorithms are not fit-for-use in all settings and there is no guarantee that they will survive future attacks. To find astonishing new materials, we will need exponentially faster search algorithms, which are still in short supply on quantum computers.

Join 2025 NSW Scientist of the Year, Professor Nalini Joshi, as she discusses these challenges and explains how mathematics can provide solutions to overcome them.