Calderbank Named to the National Academy of Sciences

Robert Calderbank, a professor of electrical engineering, computer science and mathematics  at Duke University and a senior investigator at the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his contributions voiceband modem technology and key theoretical frameworks for quantum computation.

Membership in the NAS is widely considered one of the highest honors in the field—a premier mark of excellence recognizing distinguished and ongoing achievements in original research. This year, Calderbank joins a cohort of 120 new members and 25 international associates.

At Duke, Calderbank is the director of the Information Initiative, a member of the Duke Quantum Center, an associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, and the the Charles S. Sydnor Distinguished Professor of Computer Science. An information technology pioneer, Calderbank’s work is foundational to modern communications. When your cell phone talks to one of those towers bristling with antennas, you’re using technology he developed in 1996 to improve the speed and reliability of wireless communication by correlating signals across different antennas. This space-time coding technology is still an essential element of a broad range of today’s 3G, 4G and 5G wireless standards.

wireless standards.  He also developed the group theoretic framework for quantum error correction, which today provides the foundation for research in fault-tolerant quantum computation at the Duke Quantum Center.

Calderbank’s current research continues to push these boundaries, focusing on error control codes for quantum computing, wireless communication, the internet of things, and machine learning. 

With this latest honor, Calderbank achieves the rare distinction of holding membership in both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), having been elected to the NAE in 2005.

—News brief adapted from an article by Duke Today