Scott Joel Aaronson Scott Joel Aaronson Born (1981-05-21) May 21, 1981 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Nationality American Fields Computational complexity theory, Quantum Computing Institutions University of Texas at Austin Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Advanced Study University of Waterloo Alma mater Cornell University University of California, Berkeley Doctoral advisor Umesh Vazirani Known for Quantum Turing with postselection Algebrization Notable awards Alan T. Waterman Award PECASE