Beyond the Hype: Quantum Computers Start Solving Real Problems - Technology Org

At ISI’s LA Tech Week panel, researchers explored how the principles of quantum mechanics are becoming real-world technologies, with high hopes for drug discovery. Digital sensor-pill with an integrated electronic circuit – artistic interpretation. Image credit: Alius Noreika / AI Quantum computing has long been relegated to the realm of thought experiments and theoretical physics, but that era is ending. At a recent panel during L.A. Tech Week, held at USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI) on October 15, 2025, researchers from academia and industry gathered to discuss how quantum technology is transitioning from lab curiosity to practical tool. The conversation revealed a field at an inflection point: quantum computers are beginning to solve real problems, from simulating complex materials to potentially revolutionizing drug discovery, and the infrastructure around them is maturing rapidly. What was once “spooky” science is becoming tangible technology.

What Does It Mean to Be Quantum? At the quantum level, things get weird. One of the core concepts is superposition, the idea that a particle can exist in multiple states at once. As moderator Haley Weinstein, a startup founder and former ISI research assistant, explained during the panel Inside the Minds Bending Our Reality, “The particle itself is in a superposition of every single thing.” To illustrate, she referenced Schrödinger’s cat, the famous thought experiment where a cat sealed inside a box is both alive and dead until someone opens the box to check. This uncertainty, Weinstein emphasized, is not a flaw in our tools. It is a fundamental property of nature. As scientists tried to make sense of these ideas, they encountered another puzzle: entanglement. Albert Einstein called it “spooky action at a distance.” When two particles are entangled, they remain connected even across oceans. “They understand something about the other,” Weinstein said, “as if they had some sort of entanglement happen.” Once purely theoretical, these phenomena now form the foundation of new technologies and a new era of computing. From Theory to Reality With that backdrop, Weinstein opened the panel discussion with a big question: What is the most exciting advancement in quantum research over the last 10 years, and what do you think it will mean in the future? Itay Hen, principal scientist at ISI, pointed to the hardware. In the early years, quantum computers produced nothing but noise. But now, Hen explained, they are delivering real results. “Maybe it means that in the future we’ll have bigger and better computers that can generate interesting, non-trivial and even groundbreaking calculations.” Eli Levenson-Falk, USC associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical and Computer Engineering at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and USC Viterbi School of Engineering, highlighted progress in supporting technologies. Researchers used to cobble together custom hardware, often adapting telecom equipment. “The advance I’ve been most excited about is not really in the quantum stuff at all,” he noted. “It’s in all the supporting technologies.” Today, he said, researchers can buy tools like quantum controllers off the shelf, allowing them to focus more on science than setup. Emile Hoskinson of D-Wave described a major milestone: using one of D-Wave’s quantum systems to simulate the behavior of a magnetic material, a task too complex for classical computers. “We simulated the quantum dynamics of the material directly using a quantum computer,” he explained. The work, published as part of an international collaboration, realized a vision first proposed by renowned physicist Richard Feynman in 1981: using quantum systems to simulate the quantum world. Hoskinson added that similar techniques could also be used to improve blockchain efficiency and to better understand how molecules interact, with possible applications in medicine.

Working Together Quantum computers are not expected to replace classical ones but to work alongside them. Weinstein asked how that relationship might evolve. Thomas Watts, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Technology Sydney and scientist at HRL Laboratories, said hybrid systems are already taking shape. In this model, a classical layer handles overall control while a quantum core takes on the toughest computational tasks. “You’ll still need classical systems,” he pointed out. “At the very least, you need a classical system to control the quantum computer.” Other panelists agreed: the future of computing may depend not on choosing between classical and quantum, but on combining their strengths. As Watts put it, “the quantum core does the really difficult computations,” while the classical system “takes care of everything else.” Looking Ahead The discussions ended with a look toward the future and what panelists hope quantum technology will have achieved 20 or 30 years from now. Levenson-Falk pointed to drug discovery as one of the most promising areas. Hoskinson agreed, calling it “an excellent application of quantum computing.” He pointed back to Richard Feynman’s original vision of using quantum mechanics itself, rather than classical machines, to model the universe. “That’s exactly what we need to understand how molecules interact, how they will work within the body, how to design drugs to do new things,” he explained. Watts added that materials science could be just as impactful. While drug discovery holds major promise, he noted that “there’s nothing more lucrative than a good material.” Whether breakthroughs come from classical algorithms or quantum ones, progress in this area could be equally transformative. However it unfolds, the panelists agreed that the quantum future is no longer theoretical. It is already taking shape. 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