ECE Seminar Series - Kanad Basu

From Reliability to Security: Building Trustworthy Quantum Computing Systems

Abstract:

Quantum computers are highly sensitive to noise, resource limitations, crosstalk, and imperfect control. These hardware-level challenges can degrade computational reliability and, particularly in shared quantum systems, introduce new security vulnerabilities. In this talk, we will explore techniques for building more reliable, secure, and verifiable quantum computing systems under these practical constraints. We will first discuss resource-aware execution and scalable quantum error-correction techniques for improving the reliability of quantum computation on resource-constrained hardware. We will then examine emerging security threats that exploit some of the same physical characteristics of quantum systems, including crosstalk and malicious manipulation of qubit states. Although reliability failures and security attacks have different origins, both can cause an executed computation to deviate from its intended behavior. This observation motivates the need for verification across the quantum computing stack. We will discuss techniques for determining whether computational intent is preserved across different system layers, including circuit equivalence checking, quantum compiler testing, electromagnetic interaction analysis, and control-level verification. Finally, we will highlight open challenges and future research directions toward trustworthy quantum computing systems.

Bio:

Kanad Basu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he directs the Trustworthy and Intelligent Embedded Systems (TIES) Laboratory. Prior to joining RPI, he held academic positions at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and New York University (NYU). He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida and has held positions at several leading semiconductor companies, including Intel, IBM, and Synopsys. His research interests encompass the reliability, security, and verification of computing systems, with particular emphasis on quantum computing, hardware security, and trustworthy AI. His research in quantum computing spans quantum system security, quantum error correction, resource-aware quantum computing, and verification of quantum systems. He has authored one book, two U.S. patents, two book chapters, and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. His research has received multiple best paper awards, has been featured in IEEE Top Picks in Test and Reliability, and has attracted attention from news outlets including NBC Austin and CBS Dallas-Fort Worth. Dr. Basu has received several honors, including the NSF CAREER Award and the Jonsson School Outstanding Assistant Professor Award from UTD. He has successfully supervised six doctoral candidates, as well as several Master's and undergraduate students.