PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Austin Fowler

Also known as Austin G. Fowler

Austin Fowler is a quantum computing researcher whose surface-code work helped shape architectures for superconducting processors. His 2005 thesis examined quantum error correction and Shor’s algorithm; he later coauthored papers on high-threshold surface-code computing in 2009 and practical large-scale surface-code design in 2012. At UC Santa Barbara, his theory guided superconducting-qubit experiments; he moved to Google in 2014, coauthored the 2019 Sycamore paper and wrote a 2024 guide to error correction. By October 2025 he was an independent researcher, and as of October 2026 he focuses on TQEC, an open-source tool for lattice-surgery design and simulation.

Now at
Google
Works
261
Citations
32,394
h-index
71
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2005

    A quantum computing thesis

    In 2005, he submits Towards Large-Scale Quantum Computation, a thesis that examines implementation issues from Kane’s silicon-donor architecture to Shor’s factoring algorithm and includes five-qubit quantum error-correction circuits.

  2. 2009

    Surface-code thresholds

    The 2009 paper High threshold universal quantum computation on the surface code reviews fault-tolerant computing on a two-dimensional nearest-neighbor qubit lattice with an error threshold approaching 1%.

  3. 2012

    A practical surface-code guide

    In 2012, he coauthors Surface codes: Towards practical large-scale quantum computation, which introduces the surface code and estimates the size and speed of a quantum computer.

  4. 2014–2015

    Surface codes at UCSB

    At UC Santa Barbara in 2014, he is a physics-department staff scientist whose surface code points the Martinis Group toward a superconducting-qubit architecture. The group lists him as a staff scientist in 2013–2014 and a Google Quantum Electronics Engineer from 2014. In 2015, he says the group has built a quantum device capable of correcting its own errors.

  5. 2019

    The Sycamore paper

    He coauthors Google’s 2019 paper Quantum Supremacy using a Programmable Superconducting Processor. Sycamore samples a circuit instance a million times in about 200 seconds, the paper reports.

  6. December 2024

    A Google error-correction guide

    As a Google Quantum AI research scientist, he writes a developer guide published in December 2024. It explains surface-code error correction and points readers to a free Coursera course.

  7. October 2025

    Independent work on TQEC

    At the Munich Quantum Software Forum in October 2025, he presents TQEC: Optimizing and Simulating Lattice Surgery as an independent, self-funded quantum computing researcher. The talk shows how the open-source TQEC tool simulates lattice surgery.

  8. As of October 2026

    TQEC at the Munich forum

    As of October 2026, he is an independent researcher focused on TQEC, which begins at the Munich Quantum Software Forum in 2023. He presents a talk on compiling to state-of-the-art lattice surgery and describes the open-source tool for studying and advancing the field.

Career

  1. 2014–2026GoogleQuantum Electronics Engineer
  2. 2013–2014University of California, Santa BarbaraStaff Scientist
  3. 2010–2016Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
  4. 2007–2009University of Waterloo
  5. 2003–2016University of Melbourne

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Includes Google. Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.
  2. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Google. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  3. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes Google. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.
  4. Google alumni have founded or led 133 other organizations, more than any other AI labIncludes Google. We estimate that alumni of 17 major AI labs went on to found or lead 350 other organizations, including 226 they founded, and we trace 472 career moves directly between 23 labs since 2010.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Austin Fowler yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Towards Large-Scale Quantum Computation arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. High threshold universal quantum computation on the surface code arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Surface codes: Towards practical large-scale quantum computation arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Superconducting Qubit Array Points the Way to Quantum Computers news.ucsb.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Current Members physics.ucsb.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Strength in Numbers news.ucsb.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Quantum Supremacy using a Programmable Superconducting Processor research.google. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Unlocking the Potential of Quantum Computing developers.googleblog.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Munich Quantum Software Forum · Chair for Design Automation cda.cit.tum.de. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. Munich Quantum Software Forum munich-quantum-software.github.io. Checked 20 October 2026.