The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.
When she was 10 years old, Rose Yu got a birthday present that would change her life—and, potentially, the way we study physics. Her uncle got her a computer. That was a rare commodity in China 25 years ago, and the gift did not go unused. At first, Yu mainly played computer games, but in middle school she won an award for web design. It was the first of many computer-related honors.
Yu went on to major in computer science at Zhejiang University, where she won a prize for innovative research. For her graduate studies,