13 vaults. 2 weeks. Real treasures.

Can you crack them all in time?

By Brian Siegelwax posted 07 Aug 2026

It’s an understatement to say that red dragons love treasure, so the qBraid Vault Challenge sure got The Quantum Dragon’s attention. Unscramble your set of hidden quantum circuits and win up to a $100 Amazon gift card plus 10,000 qBraid credits. Hurry, though; this ends August 11, and a certain firebreather wants those credits!

This week’s IQT News:

This week’s premium content:

This week’s Friends of The Quantum Dragon:

Deploy and update quantum-resilient protections across existing environments without rebuilding applications or replacing infrastructure. by Rebecca Krauthamer, QuSecure Co-Founder and CEO
“A 25-year-old algorithm has some vulnerabilities.” by Simon Pamplin, CTO of Certes
“These complementary technologies can be deployed together across high-speed optical networks.” by Terry Cronin, Vice President, Business Development at Toshiba International Corporation
A Successful Combination of Physics- and Algorithms-based Approaches Across Dedicated Secure Regional Infrastructure by Patrick Scully, Chief Product Officer at Quantum Corridor
Protect Critical In-flight Data Today without Disrupting Network Performance or Operations by Paulina Gomez, Director, Portfolio Marketing at Ciena

In this edition:

Is this the 1st quantum roadshow?
Baby, it’s cold outside.
QuTech’s quantum bus goes round and round
Thailand Quantum Readiness Workshop
It’s a history lesson, too.
My wife is 40.
From Sensing to Computing: Organic Qubits
Database of Quantum Computing Modalities
Join us to find out… how we might boogie in space.
I now know even less about quantum mechanics.
What excites you the most about your current research?
Almost a Face Behind Alice & Bob’s Art
Hard problems make it fun.
Is your quantum computer too big and bulky?
Quantum Noise Detector

Is this the 1st quantum roadshow?

Thanks to Bobby Corpus for sharing with me that the Philippines will be hosting a quantum roadshow this month. Activities will take place at 3 different universities in 3 different cities over 5 days. I don’t follow non-IQT events too closely, but this is the first of its kind I’ve encountered.

Baby, it’s cold outside.

Speaking of the Philippines, you might be living in a region that starts getting cold around November. If that’s the case, QISTCon.PH 2026, the Quantum Innovation, Science, and Technology Conference in the Philippines, is coming to Cebu City, the year-round stomping grounds of The Quantum Dragon.

QuTech’s quantum bus goes round and round

Even I never thought CoComelon would make it into this newsletter, and yet here we are. I guess we have Dr. Lieven Vandersypen of QuTech to thank/blame for that. Impressively, the bus analogy goes beyond the title and permeates the article. The 10:30 video is worth a watch as well.

Thailand Quantum Readiness Workshop

A brief post, with an 11-second video clip showing John Buselli of IBM’s Quantum Offering Management – Research Group giving a talk, reminds us that the quantum threat to cryptography is a global issue. This link may require an X account.

It’s a history lesson, too.

I got to Steane’s Code in Yuval Boger’s “Quantum Bits,” and discovered that Russ Fein isn’t the only author in quantum who likes to insert history into his writing.

My wife is 40.

Technically, the title of this video by Firebringer Quantum is “Your Quantum Vendor Passed Every Test — Here’s Why That’s Not Enough,” but I’ve been married long enough to be distracted by Justin Hughes’s shirt. Unless an official government document is involved, my wife is 28.

From Sensing to Computing: Organic Qubits

Imagine you want qubits for quantum sensing. Some work well and you’re commercializing those, but some don’t. Instead of discarding the latter, you discover they could work well for quantum computing. This is a true story.

Database of Quantum Computing Modalities

The next time someone is talking about quantum computers and showing off the same ol’ golden chandelier as if that’s what they all look like, show them this list, compiled by Marin Ivezic for PostQuantum. Chances are you haven’t heard of some of these. Heck, I haven’t heard of some of these.

Join us to find out… how we might boogie in space.

“Welcome to the soundtrack of our future in space,” he says, shaped by quantum computing. Prof. Eduardo R. Miranda and Tiange Wang provide a teaser of quantum computer-aided tunes accompanied by real-time generated visuals. This link may require a LinkedIn account.

I now know even less about quantum mechanics.

IITKanpur asked the question, “Can a comic book make quantum mechanics more relatable?” I watched the entire 3:34 animation of the pages turning, and I didn’t spot any quantum mechanics whatsoever. So, if it’s in there, calling myself the 2nd-least-qualified person in quantum is being generous. This link may require an X account.

What excites you the most about your current research?

That’s just one question within “Making quantum computers in which atoms ‘speak’ with each other,” an interview with RIKEN’s Team Director, Dr. Sylvain de Leseleuc, but it just so happens to be The Quantum Dragon’s favorite question to ask. After all, quantum is way too interesting for anything said about it to be boring.

Almost a Face Behind Alice & Bob’s Art

At least I finally have a name: Guillaume Gennet. I’ve been praising the company’s illustrations for years, assuming that there’s probably been a team behind them. But nope; there’s apparently one artist who doesn’t like to show his face. In other news: I want one of those t-shirts he’s wearing! This link may require a LinkedIn account.

Hard problems make it fun.

This is just a short statement by Dr. Joe Fitzsimons of Horizon Quantum, but it strikes the very core of The Quantum Dragon. This link may require an X account.

Is your quantum computer too big and bulky?

Aaron Kettl solved the problem in only 15 minutes using ChatGPT! WOW!!! Notwithstanding the technical issues you’ll no doubt discover, he makes a valid point about some aesthetics being large, bulky, and unimaginative. There are some sleek and curvaceous systems out there, though. This link may require a LinkedIn account.

Quantum Noise Detector

Alan Ho and Prof. Michael Biercuk inspired the Resuscitated Quantum Bullshit Detector, but the original(?) has resurfaced on Bluesky. It’s back to reposting a simple “bullshit” or “not bullshit,” so The Quantum Dragon will continue to monitor for challenges, controversies, and debates under this new name from Dr. Bob Sutor.

Paul Halpern alerted Prof. David Deutsch that someone seems to have published an AI-generated book about his research. Indeed, the author has 598 really cheap titles on Amazon, and the one about Prof. Deutsch alone is 241 pages.
Marin Ivezic criticized EY Canada for announcing the installation of a “quantum computer” while providing zero details about said system. I’m not the journalist he’s referring to, but at the moment I’ve also only been able to confirm that the system is photonic. Mr. Ivezic omitted potential vendors Aegiq, OptQC, Quandela, and QuiX Quantum in his article, all of which have deployed photonic quantum computers, instead putting forth only Xanadu and ORCA Computing. His argument for ORCA is good, but based on the secrecy involved, ORCA having a history of announcing its sales, Xanadu never having announced a sale, and publicly traded Xanadu needing announcements to make, I agree with him that Xanadu is the most likely provider.

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