Hi, I’m Michael 👋

Creating value out of thin air.

  • Security Year in Industry @ National Highways
  • Fourth Year Integrated Masters in Computer Science
    @ Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Certified Infrastructure Technician (Credly)
  • Ex Treasurer of Royal Holloway Cyber Security Society
  • Developer of Volq, an interpreted programming language
    for simulating quantum computing algorithms

All opinions expressed here are solely my own and not those of any organisation.

Introducing Volq: A programming language for simulating quantum computation

Volq

Today, I want to introduce a project I’ve been working on for a while.

Volq is an interpreted Domain Specific Language (DSL) that enables you to simulate quantum computing algorithms on your classical computer. You can play around with existing algorithms to better understand how they solve problems, or write your own from scratch using the easy-to-learn DSL based on the quantum circuit model.

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My Ride-Out with a National Highways Traffic Officer

Police park-up point on the M25 by Junction 9 I work in the Cyber Security team at National Highways in the UK, I’m enjoying it and everything is going great. However, working for a business that’s responsible for critical national infrastructure brings some unexpected benefits, including interesting site visits and experiences!

This post is about an experience I had recently, which is going on a ride-out with a National Highways Traffic Officer. It’s seriously one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in a long time, so I needed to write about it!

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Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I thought I’d start one so that I could post about whichever random topics I’m interested in, as well as different things I’m working on. The writing will be a mix of normal and formal - but leaning more towards the normal side. I might post semi-frequently, or I might not depending on how much time I have!

My name is Michael, or I sometimes go by michaelchips online. At the time of writing this, it’s been two months since I started my cyber security Year in Industry at National Highways in June 2025. I’ve also completed 3 years of my undergraduate Integrated Masters MSci in Computer Science at Royal Holloway, University of London. When my time at National Highways comes to a close in June 2026, I’ll be returning to university to complete the final year of my degree.

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