Scott Aaronson

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Scott Aaronson

Scott Joel Aaronson (born May 21, 1981) is an American theoretical computer scientist and Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. His primary areas of research are computational complexity theory and quantum computing.

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• Scott Aaronson - Wikipedia

  Scott Joel Aaronson (born May 21, 1981) is an American theoretical computer scientist and Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. His primary areas of research are computational complexity theory and quantum computing. ## Early life and education [...] # Scott Aaronson | Scott Aaronson | | --- | | Aaronson in 2011 | | | Born | Scott Joel Aaronson (1981-05-21) May 21, 1981 (age 45) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | | Education | Cornell University University of California, Berkeley | | Known for | Quantum Turing machine with postselection Algebrization Boson sampling | | Spouse | Dana Moshkovitz | | Awards | Alan T. Waterman Award PECASE Tomassoni–Chisesi Prize ACM Prize in Computing | | Scientific career | | | Fields | Computational complexity theory, quantum computing | | Workplaces | University of Texas at Austin Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Advanced Study University of Waterloo | | Doctoral advisor | Umesh Vazirani | | | | | Website | scottaaronson.blog, www.scottaaronson.com | [...] ## Early life and education Aaronson grew up in the United States, though he spent a year in Asia when his father was posted to Hong Kong. He enrolled in a school there that permitted him to skip ahead several years in math, but upon returning to the US, he had difficulties in school, getting bad grades and having run-ins with teachers. He enrolled in The Clarkson School, a gifted education program run by Clarkson University, which enabled Aaronson to apply for colleges while only in his freshman year of high school. He was accepted into Cornell University, where he obtained his BSc in computer science in 2000, and where he resided at the Telluride House. He then attended the University of California, Berkeley, for his PhD, which he got in 2004 under the supervision of Umesh Vazirani.

• Who Is Scott Aaronson? Proving Quantum Advantage

  Quantum Zeitgeist # Who is Scott Aaronson? Proving Quantum Advantage Avatar of Dr. Donovan Who is Scott Aaronson? Proving Quantum Advantage Scott Aaronson is a prominent American theoretical computer scientist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He has made significant contributions to quantum computing, computational complexity theory, and the philosophy of science. Aaronson’s work focuses on understanding the limitations of computation, particularly in the context of quantum mechanics. His writing style is characterized by clear and concise language, making complex scientific concepts accessible to a broad audience. He often uses analogies and metaphors to illustrate difficult ideas, making his talks and writings engaging and easy to follow. [...] Theoretical computer scientists have built upon Aaronson’s work, exploring new areas such as quantum machine learning and quantum cryptography. His research has also inspired new approaches to solving complex problems in fields such as chemistry and materials science. ## Popular Science Writing And Blogging Scott Aaronson is an American theoretical computer scientist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He is known for his work on quantum computing, computational complexity theory, and the philosophy of science. Aaronson received his Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Cornell University in 2000 and went on to earn his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. [...] ## Early Life And Education Background Scott Aaronson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 21, 1981. His father, Steve Aaronson, was a science writer who later moved into corporate public relations, and the family spent part of Scott’s childhood in Hong Kong after his father was posted there. Aaronson taught himself calculus at eleven and left conventional high school early, enrolling instead at The Clarkson School, a gifted-education programme run by Clarkson University that let him apply to universities before finishing high school. Aaronson pursued his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science in 2000. It was at Cornell that his interest in theoretical computer science and quantum mechanics took hold.

• Prof. Scott Aaronson - Quantum Computing and the Limits of the Efficiently Computable

  Biography: Scott Aaronson is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his PhD in computer science from University of California, Berkeley and did postdocs at the Institute for Advanced Study and the University of Waterloo. Scott's research interests center around fundamental limits on what can efficiently be computed in the physical world. This has entailed studying quantum computing, the most powerful model of computation we have based on known physical theory. He writes a blog (www.scottaaronson.com/blog), and is the creator of the Complexity Zoo (www.complexityzoo.com), an online encyclopedia of computational complexity theory. He was the recipient of NSF's Alan T Waterman Award for 2012. [...] Mr Aaronson discusses what can and can't be feasibly computed according to physical law. He argues that this is a fundamental question, not only for mathematics and computer science, but also for physics; and that the infeasibility of certain computational problems (such as NP-complete problems) could plausibly be taken as a physical principle, analogous to the Second Law or the impossibility of superluminal signalling. [...] # Prof. Scott Aaronson - Quantum Computing and the Limits of the Efficiently Computable ## Channel: The University of Edinburgh 174K subscribers 146 likes ### Description 12,362 views Posted: 2012-07-19 Scott Aaronson, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, delivered his inaugural lecture entitled "Quantum Computing and the Limits of the Efficiently Computable".

• Scott Aaronson: The Mathocalypse, Will Intelligence Matter Anymore?

  # Scott Aaronson: The Mathocalypse, Will Intelligence Matter Anymore? ## Channel: Ryan Peterman (verified) 112K subscribers 809 likes ### Description 43,280 views Posted: 2026-10-12 Scott Aaronson is one of the world's leading quantum computing researchers and spent two years at OpenAI working on AI safety. We talked about why he thinks the singularity has already begun for math, who gets credit when AI writes the proof, and whether intelligence will still matter once machines do the thinking. • My ergonomic keyboard project I mentioned, you can follow along here: • The Kickstarter page for it: 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀: • Spotify: • Apple: • Transcript: 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: [...] ### Transcript [0:00] We are entering maybe the like the most uncertain period in in human history. [0:05] This is Scott Arensson, one of the world's leading quantum computing researchers who spent 2 years at OpenAI working on AI safety. Will human driven mathematical research exist? [0:16] We have been dethroned as sort of the main theorem proving entities on planet Earth. This is something that happened [0:23] this summer. Do you think intelligence will matter anymore? [0:29] Once you take away physical strength and you take away intelligence, what is left? Here's the full episode. [0:39] The reason I wanted to talk is I thought you'd be one of the most interesting people to explain the recent events in

• #986 Theoretical Computer Scientist: AI Just Changed Math Forever, with Scott Aaronson

  Modern CTO ▶ Listen Episode 986 · # Theoretical Computer Scientist: AI Just Changed Math Forever, with Scott Aaronson What’s left for humans to do once AI is better at solving problems than we are? Today, we’re talking to Scott Aaronson, a theoretical computer scientist at UT Austin who has spent his career on quantum computing theory. We explore how AI is changing the way we do math and teach students, what it takes to keep increasingly capable systems aligned with human goals, and why one of computer science’s most famous puzzles, P versus NP, matters to everyday programmers. [...] (Scott Aaronson at 00:52:19) So, like, as the problem gets larger and larger, like, let's say it involves n bits of input, then the time that you need to solve it grows like linear with n or it grows like n squared or n cubed, perhaps. Right? These are... you know, we can deal with any of this. Right? (Scott Aaronson at 00:52:37) You know, of course, we'd rather have n than n squared. We'd rather have n squared than n cubed. Okay? But if the number of steps is growing, like, two to the n power, right, that's exponential growth. [...] (Scott Aaronson at 00:53:48) Okay? And it basically asks, whenever there is a polynomial algorithm, you know, which is sort of our rough and ready criterion for fast algorithm. Right? Whenever there's sort of a fast algorithm to recognize the solution to a problem, then is there also a fast algorithm to find the solution? Okay? And I think most people, like, once they understood the question would say, well, of course not. (Scott Aaronson at 00:54:15) Right? Like, you know, it... we all have experience that... okay. You know, if you're trying to solve a Sudoku puzzle, let's say, or a jigsaw puzzle.

• Award

  Alan T. Waterman Award

• Image

  

• Gender

  male

• Educated At

  Cornell University

• Instance Of

  Q5

• Occupation

  computer scientist

• Citizenship

  United States

• Date Of Birth

  5/21/1981

• Place Of Birth

  Philadelphia