QCrypt 2016, the 6th International Conference on Quantum Cryptography, was held on Sept. 12-16, 2016, in Washington DC. It was organized by the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS) at the University of Maryland. The lead local organizer was Yi-Kai Liu at the University of Maryland and NIST. For more information, see the conference web site (http://2016.qcrypt.net/).

Focus of the Event

QCrypt is a conference for students and researchers working on all aspects of quantum cryptography. This includes theoretical and experimental research on the possibilities and limitations of secure communication and computation with quantum devices, how security can be preserved in the presence of a quantum computer, and how to achieve long distance quantum communication. The conference includes, but is not limited to, research on quantum key distribution.

It is the goal of the conference to represent the previous year’s best results on quantum cryptography, and to support the building of a research community.

In order to achieve this goal, the conference features both invited and contributed talks, selected by the steering committee and program committee, respectively. In addition, the steering committee invites up to 5 focus tutorials, one preceding each day, with the goal to ease communication between the different subfields.

In addition, QCrypt features a poster session and an industry exhibit. To further connections to industry, QCrypt also includes an industry session consisting of a panel discussion or short presentation. To share latest advances, QCrypt includes a hot topic session, in which very recent (post-deadline) and high- quality research results are selected and presented. To inform the public, QCrypt typically includes a talk for the general public outside the normal conference program.

Results of the Event

A. Invited talks, contributed talks and posters:

QCrypt had 20 invited speakers, selected by the steering committee. (These included the speakers for the tutorials, public lecture and industry panel discussion.)

There were approximately 90 papers submitted to the conference before the main deadline. Of these, the program committee selected 27 of these as contributed talks; almost all of the remaining submissions were accepted as posters.

An additional 60 papers were submitted before the late poster-only deadline, and almost all of these were accepted as posters.

Approximately 10 papers were submitted to the hot topics session, and the steering committee selected 3 of these as contributed talks.

There were approximately 10 industry exhibitors, who had tables in the reception area surrounding the poster displays.

B. Attendance at the conference:

Approximately 230 people registered for and attended the conference.

In order to encourage broader participation at QCrypt, we ran an open process where graduate students and postdocs could apply for travel funding. Approximately 20 students were awarded funding, at varying levels depending on students’ need and the goals of the conference. Roughly half of these students were based at US institutions, and half of them were based outside the US.

C. Broader themes:

The scientific results presented at QCrypt seemed to be centered around four major themes:

1. Practical implementation of quantum key distribution “in the real world” (addressing concerns such as side-channel attacks)

2. Quantum protocols for more complex functionalities (e.g., fully homomorphic encryption)

3. Long-distance quantum key distribution (e.g., using satellites and quantum repeaters)

4. Quantum cryptanalysis of classical cryptosystems

One highlight of the conference was the special session on loophole-free Bell tests, and their application to quantum cryptography with device-independent security.

Use of Funding from NSF

NSF funds were used to pay for student travel support for students based at US institutions. Approximately 10 students received funding. Most of them received partial support, depending on need; this consisted of some subset of the conference registration fees, hotel rooms, and airfare.

Preference was given to students who were selected to present talks or posters at QCrypt, and did not have other means of support. Funding was also provided to encourage participation by women, underrepresented minority groups, and institutions not traditionally represented at QCrypt.

Students based at institutions outside the US were supported by other funding sources (not NSF).

Students were asked to submit brief applications for funding. These applications were reviewed by a committee consisting of: Yi-Kai Liu (NIST / University of Maryland), Eleni Diamanti (CNRS, Telecom ParisTech), Norbert Lütkenhaus (IQC, University of Waterloo), Masahide Sasaki (NICT Japan), Masahiro Takeoka (NICT Japan), Mark Wilde (Louisiana State University), and Franco Wong (MIT).

There was a small amount of leftover NSF funding, after paying for student travel. These leftover funds were used to help pay for a sign language interpreter, for a deaf student who was based at a US institution. The conference organizers felt that this use of funds was consistent with the broader goal of encouraging participation by students from underrepresented groups.

Last Modified: 07/31/2017
Modified by: Andrew M Childs