For the course project, you will work in a team of 2–3 students to study a topic related to quantum algorithms that goes beyond the material covered in the lectures. Your goals should be to understand your topic by reading original sources, to identify promising research directions related to it, to attempt some original research (if possible), and then to communicate your findings clearly in writing and in a live presentation, at a level appropriate for students in the course.
By early March, you should identify your team and write a project proposal that includes a one-paragraph summary of your topic, a timeline for exploring that topic, and a list of selected references. This should show that you have thought about your topic and have a clear picture of what you would like to learn about it. Before writing your proposal, you should discuss possible topics with the course staff during office hours.
Presentations will be scheduled in the last few class meetings of the semester. The durations of these talks will depend on the number of groups and the number of sessions, but will likely be 15–20 minutes. You should prepare slides, and all members of your group should be involved in presenting.
Your paper should be prepared using LaTeX. It should be at most ten pages in a single-column format with 11-point fonts and 1-inch margins. References do not count toward the page limit. You should not include any other supplementary material.
Your proposal, presentation slides, and paper should be submitted via Gradescope. You should submit the version of the slides that you use in your presentation by the end of the day that you present.
Presentations and papers will be graded based on the following criteria:
The following is a list of some potential project topics. This list is by no means exhaustive, and you are welcome to choose a topic not on this list. (For example, you might find other topics of interest in the Quantum Algorithm Zoo.)
References are intentionally omitted so that you have a chance to explore the topic with a fresh perspective, though in some cases, there are one or two obvious references. Please keep in mind that your goal should be to explore a topic, not to review one particular paper. You are encouraged to speak with the course staff for help identifying a topic and finding entry points to the literature.