COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Dr. Andreas Klappenecker, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Texas A&M University, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for his research on quantum algorithms. The $400,000 grant will continue through 2009. The NSF CAREER award is the most prestigious award for new faculty members for their career-development and teaching activities, highlighting them as upcoming academic leaders in the 21st century. Klappenecker’s research will focus on the design and analysis of quantum algorithms. He wants to expedite computations by operating in the quantum mechanical regime, meaning that many computations can be performed simultaneously, rather than separately as with classical algorithms. He will study various applications of quantum algorithms such as pattern recognition and communication problems. Klappenecker said one goal of his research is the development of design principles for quantum algorithms to help remedy the lack of quantum software. "Designing quantum algorithms is significantly more difficult than the design of classical algorithms, and we have a quantum software crisis for that reason," he said. Awardees must include plans for teaching and research in their application for a CAREER grant. Klappenecker plans on creating and further developing classes on quantum computing, randomized algorithms, cryptography and security. A portion of the teaching component will also go toward his weekly quantum computing seminar, which has been running for three years. Klappenecker joined Texas A&M’s Department of Computer Science in 2000. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany in 1998. He was also named fellow-at-large of the Santa Fe Institute in 2000.
