Middlebury College
Department of Computer Science Seminar
Senior Thesis Presentations
Wednesday, May 10th:
McCardell Bicentennial Hall 538
Quantum Computing: The Future of Computing?
12:20 p.m. - Mutuku Mulwa
Much progress has been made in designing quantum algorithms that outperform algorithms running on classical computers performing similar tasks. However, there still exist difficulties
that need to be overcome before a quantum computer capable of efficiently executing the algorithms can be built.
In this talk, we explore some of the advantages of using quantum computers over classical ones. We analyze Grover's database search algorithm as an example of an area where
quantum computers outperform classical ones. We also look at how information is processed in quantum computers and at some of the quantum processor designs that have been used so far. Finally, we touch on an alternative way of designing quantum algorithms through adiabatic evolution.
This is a joint thesis with the Physics Department.
12:50 p.m.- Mihai Azoitei
Computer, Meet Gene: Sequence Alignment Algorithms
Over the last few years, the field of bioinformatics has flourished due to the abundance of biological data and technological advancements. Currently, the GenBank repository of nucleic acid sequences contains about 67 million sequences, and the SWISS-PROT database of protein sequences contains about 200 thousand protein sequences. These sequences may hold the key to many important biological questions, and their products may be efficient drug targets for various pathologies. However, the biological functions of the products encoded by most of these sequences are still unknown. Sequence alignment algorithms attempt to elucidate this by comparing unknown sequences with sequences for which the structure and function of their product is known. We present an in-depth overview of the algorithms used in sequence alignment. Local, global and multiple sequence alignment algorithms are explained and evaluated. In addition, we present the mathematical models used for the scoring matrices that evaluate the alignments.
Lunch will be provided.
All are welcome to attend!