CMSC 858Y: Quantum Computing Systems
University of Maryland, Spring 2026
Instructor: Runzhou Tao
Staff:
| Name | Office Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Prof. Runzhou Tao | rztao@umd.edu | By appointment or After class |
| Hongzheng Zhu | hzhu1238@umd.edu | Mon 3-4pm |
Meeting: Mondays & Wednesdays (01/26–05/06)
Classroom: IRB 1207
Final due: 05/08 (Fri)
Format: Role-Playing Paper-Reading Seminar
Course snapshot
This is a research-style seminar on quantum computing systems, treating quantum computing as an end-to-end stack:
- Language / IR → Compiler (optimization, mapping, scheduling)
- Runtime / Cloud (queues, throughput, multi-tenancy)
- Benchmarking & characterization
- Noise / mitigation / (toward) fault tolerance
- Control / hardware–software co-design
The course runs as a role-playing seminar: every week the class reads the same main paper, but each student contributes from a specific role (reviewer, hacker, practitioner, etc.). This avoids “one person presents, everyone else listens” and turns each meeting into structured peer review + design debate.
Paper list and role sign-up sheet
Schedule
| Date | Week | Lecture | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/26 | 1 | Cancelled due to weather. | |
| 01/28 | Cancelled due to weather. | ||
| 02/02 | 2 | Administrative: Course Overview; Role-Playing Seminar Mechanics. History of Quantum Computing. (Note) | |
| 02/04 | Quantum Computing Systems Overview (I) (Note) | ||
| 02/09 | 3 | Quantum Computing Systems Overview (II) (Note) | Assignment 0 |
| 02/11 | Quantum Computing Systems Overview (III) | ||
| 02/16 | 4 | Paper presentation | |
| 02/18 | |||
| 02/23 | 5 | ||
| 02/25 | |||
| 03/02 | 6 | ||
| 03/04 | |||
| 03/09-03/15 | 7 | Spring Break | |
| 03/16 | 8 | ||
| 03/18 | |||
| 03/23 | 9 | ||
| 03/25 | |||
| 03/30 | 10 | ||
| 04/01 | |||
| 04/06 | 11 | ||
| 04/08 | |||
| 04/13 | 12 | ||
| 04/15 | |||
| 04/20 | 13 | ||
| 04/22 | |||
| 04/27 | 14 | ||
| 04/29 | |||
| 05/04 | 15 | ||
| 05/06 | |||
| 05/08 | Final submissions due |