I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the ASPIRE symposium in Tübingen, through the Japan-Germany ASPIRE joint program on neutral-atom quantum computing.

The symposium featured talks by researchers from Japan and Germany supported by ASPIRE, as well as invited speakers from outside the program. The talks covered a wide range of topics, from neutral atom systems to quantum computing, and included both theoretical and experimental perspectives.

My research focuses on the theory of initial-state preparation using quantum circuits, with potential applications to physical platforms such as neutral-atom arrays. Therefore, I found the research updates from various experimental groups and the lab tours particularly inspiring.

Among the presentations, I was especially interested in the talk by Mr. Shijia Sun (LMU Munich / MPQ), and the invited talks by Dr. Torsten Zache (University of Innsbruck) and Prof. Gerhard Birkl (Technical University of Darmstadt).

I had already read the paper related to Mr. Sun’s talk, but listening to the presentation gave me an opportunity to ask questions about points that had interested me. I also asked Dr. Zache technical questions about numerical simulations of quantum circuits and Prof. Birkl about atom transport between two planes created using the Talbot effect. All these questions were asked during the coffee breaks rather than during the Q&A sessions.

I also realized how difficult it was for me to engage in discussions in English, partly because I am not used to hearing spoken English every day. This was only my second trip abroad, with my first trip having been in March this year. The experience made me realize the importance of regularly exposing myself to spoken English and finding more opportunities to practice speaking, even while living in Japan.

Despite these challenges, participating in this international symposium was a valuable experience for my research. I would like to express my gratitude to Sylvain for making my participation possible, Christian Groß for organizing the symposium, and my supervisor, Prof. Kunimi, for their support.