Teen prodigy among youngest chosen as quantum computing advocate

There are 500 international students who have earned the title of "Qiskit Advocates" and were recruited to tackle the science of "Quantum Computing."

Davis Clarke, a senior at Middle Creek High School, is one of only 37 chosen for the 2023 class and one of 10 researchers his age selected for the program. Clarke said his interest in coding began when he was very young.

"I’ve been coding all my life and STEM all through my life,” he said.

Clarke is very interested in "Q-bits,” a binary system of "ones-and-zeros.”

"You could get brilliant physical simulations that would take thousands of years with even our largest supercomputer clusters,” Clarke explained.

The potential benefits, according to Clarke, are far-reaching.

"Better engineering of anything from cars to planes, fluid simulations, engineering, boats," he said.

Clarke is also interested in simulated materials to help the environment. Qiskit is "open source,” meaning it’s available to anyone. With it, Clarke says he can tackle the science from home or anywhere.

"Everything that I do, I can do from my laptop," he said.

But it’s the connections with scientists in the field which, for him, is the program’s greatest benefit.

"That has been the most monumental for me in terms of connecting with people who are interested in similar things that I have been than anything previously I had before,” he said.

Clarke’s long-term plans after graduate school are to work in the "Tech Sector" as a research scientist and pursue entrepreneurial interests.

According to Clarke, the sky is the limit.