Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mahindra University, for the setting up of Makers Lab to spearhead research and development in Quantum Computing, XAI (Explainable AI), and Metaverse.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of Mahindra Universitys First Annual Convocation, in the presence of senior officials and dignitaries such as KT Rama Rao, Cabinet Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communication, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, and Industries & Commerce Department of Telangana; Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman & MD, Bharat Biotech International Limited, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group; CP Gurnani, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO), Tech Mahindra; Dr. Y Medury, Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University, among others. The partnership will fuel co-innovation by leveraging next-gen technologies.

CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra says,At Tech Mahindra, we believe that technology-led innovation will enable us to build a sustainable, digital world amidst all shockwaves predictable and unpredictable. Our partnership with Mahindra University is in line with this vision and is aimed at empowering students with rich learning opportunities through various initiatives. With the launch of Makers Lab, we will provide many talented and skilled individuals, with the opportunity to progress for a greater cause. The MoU will combine Tech Mahindras technological expertise and Mahindra Universitys strong experience in the educational sector to build an exemplary institution at the Hyderabad campus, in the form of the Makers lab. The lab will be a frontrunner in boosting innovation and R&D to democratize access to high-quality education.

As a part of the partnership, the students of Mahindra University will get an opportunity to work on IPs made within the Makers Lab and get deployed in R&D projects on campus. They will also collaborate with coding groups like Engima within the university to get access to projects, internships, and employment opportunities. The evaluation process to select students for Makers Lab will be facilitated by Mahindra University and Tech Mahindra.

Dr. Y Medury, Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University said, There is a lot that Mahindra University and Tech Mahindra can jointly offer to each other. The MoU will further deepen our ties with Tech Mahindra to strengthen technology research in the country. This will also provide the students an exciting opportunity to collaborate with subject matter experts and industry leaders to work on exciting develop real-world applications.

The exchange of ideas and collaboration between the research teams of Tech Mahindra and Mahindra University will help develop sustainable next-gen technology use cases.Tech Mahindra believes in the DigitALL philosophy for comprehensive Business Transformation. Digital technologies catalyze the transformations and humanize businesses by helping them think, sense, connect, communicate, secure, and act better than before. As part of NXT.NOW framework, which aims to enhance Human Centric Experience, Tech Mahindra focuses on investing in emerging technologies and solutions that enable digital transformation and meet the evolving needs of the customer.

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Tech Mahindra inks MoU with Mahindra University for research in quantum computing, XAI, and Metaverse - Express Computer

A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team received a $1.4 million award from the W. M. Keck Foundation to study a new process that combines quantum physics and biochemistry. If successful, the research could lead to a major breakthrough in the quantum computing field.

The project is one of two proposals the University of Minnesota submits each year to the Keck Foundation and is the first grant of its kind the University has received in 20 years.

Quantum computers have the potential to solve very complex problems at an unprecedented fast rate. They have applications in fields like cryptography, information security, supply chain optimization and could one day assist in the discovery of new materials and drugs.

One of the biggest challenges for scientists is that the information stored in quantum bits (the building blocks of quantum computers) is often short-lived. Early-stage prototype quantum computers do exist, but they lose the information they store so quickly that solving big problems of practical relevance is currently unachievable.

One approach researchers have studied to attempt to make quantum devices more stable is by combining semiconductors and superconductors to obtain robust states called Majorana modes, but this approach has been challenging and so far inconclusive since it requires very high-purity semiconductors. U of M School of Physics and Astronomy Associate Professor Vlad Pribiag, who is leading the project, has come up with a new idea that could yield stable Majorana quantum structures.

Pribiags proposed method leverages recent advances in DNA nanoassembly, combined with magnetic nanoparticles and superconductors, in order to detect Majoranas, which are theoretical particles that could be a key element for protecting quantum information and creating stable quantum devices.

This is a radically new way to think about quantum devices, Pribiag said. When I heard about this technique of DNA nanoassembly, I thought it fit right into this problem I had been working on about Majoranas and quantum devices. Its really a paradigm shift in the field and it has tremendous potential for finding a way to protect quantum information so that we can build more advanced quantum machines to do these complex operations.

The project, entitled Topological Quantum Architectures Through DNA Programmable Molecular Lithography, will span three years. Pribiag is collaborating with Columbia University Professor Oleg Gang, whose lab will handle the DNA nanoassembly part of the work.

About the W. M. Keck FoundationBased in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundations grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research and science and engineering. The Foundation also supports undergraduate education and maintains a Southern California Grant Program that provides support for the Los Angeles community, with a special emphasis on children and youth. For more information, visit the Keck Foundation website.

About the College of Science and EngineeringThe University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering brings together the Universitys programs in engineering, physical sciences, mathematics and computer science into one college. The college is ranked among the top academic programs in the country and includes 12 academic departments offering a wide range of degree programs at the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels. Learn more at cse.umn.edu.

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UMN-led team receives $1.4M Keck Foundation grant to study possible breakthrough in quantum computing - UMN News

Quantum computing has the potential to drive economic growth and promote innovation across a range of industries such as manufacturing, supply chain optimization and logistics, molecular simulations and pharmaceuticals, machine learning, and finance. With a sustained influx of private and government investment and scientific advancements, quantum computing has moved rapidly towards the commercial market. For certain currently intractable problems, quantum computers will have a transformative effect, providing answers exponentially faster than a classical computer.

However, alongside this potential, quantum computing poses an existential threat to certain current forms of cryptography and thus the security of our data.

We have outlined the 6 things you need to know about quantum computing, from its use cases to the hazards it poses to cybersecurity, and how to prepare for the quantum age.

1. The Quantum Computing Industry is Growing

In December 2018, former President Trump signed the National Quantum Initiative Act (the NQI). The NQI called for a coordinated Federal program to accelerate quantum research and development for the economic and national security of the United States and allocated $1.2 billion to advance quantum technologies.

Spurred by recent scientific breakthroughs and extensive government support across agencies, national labs, and partnerships across government, academia, and the private sector, the quantum market is on the rise. According to McKinsey, funding of start-ups focused on quantum technologies (which also encompass quantum sensing and quantum networking) more than doubledfrom $700 million in 2020 to $1.4 billion in 2021. The share of investments in quantum coming from private-capital entities now accounts for more than 70 percent of investments. In total, quantum computing companies raised $3 billion by the end of 2021. In particular, four industriespharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive, and financeare projected to be the first beneficiaries of quantum advantages, with the potential to capture nearly $700 billion in value as early as 2035. This increased funding suggests a growing confidence from the investment community in quantum computing.

While the possibility of huge long-term returns from quantum computing investments is clear, many companies and industries are already deriving value by mapping many of their high-value intractable problems onto hybrid quantum-classical algorithms being developed by quantum software companies. Companies that have already announced major quantum initiatives include Daimler, Volkswagen, Boeing, Airbus, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Merck. Additionally, prominent technology companies are also developing their own quantum capabilities - notably Alibaba, Amazon, IBM, Google, and Microsoft have launched commercial quantum computing cloud services.

2. Quantum Computing Poses a Real Threat to Cybersecurity

A quantum computer can factor prime numbers far more efficiently than a classical computer, thus allowing a requisitely large scale fault tolerant computer running what is known as Shors algorithm to break RSA encryption. The RSA cryptosystem is based on the complexity of prime number factorization for classical computers and is the building block of the current internet infrastructure used to secure most online communication and protect banking, health care, national security, trade secrets, and other vital digital information. As of April 2022, some 78% of all websites communicate relying on the secure version of the HTTP protocol, which is based on RSA encryption. Thus, the possibility of a quantum computer breaking RSA poses a significant threat to the public and private sectors information technology systems.

Although large scale fault tolerant quantum computers remain on the technological horizon as the hardware and software continue to develop, the cybersecurity risk is not just at the point when a quantum computer reaches the technological capacity to run Shors algorithm. Using what is known as harvest, decrypt later attacks, a hacker could obtain RSA-encrypted data now in a classic cyberattack and then decrypt that data in the future when large scale fault tolerant quantum computers are accessible. This is especially concerning for the financial and healthcare industries as unauthorized disclosure of sensitive financial and personal health information would impact consumers and patients at an unprecedented scale.

3. Solutions to Mitigate the Threat are Available

To address these threats while still promoting the overwhelmingly positive impacts that quantum technologies can have, on May 4, 2022, the White House released a national security memorandum (the NSM) outlining the Biden Administrations plan to address the cybersecurity risks posed by quantum technology. The NSM directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to come up with new algorithms (post-quantum algorithms) and standards through a "Migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography Project". NIST is currently engaged in a six-year effort to devise and assess encryption methods that could resist an attack from a future quantum computer.

On July 5, 2022, NIST announced four encryption algorithms that will become part of its post-quantum cryptographic standard, expected to be finalized in about two years at which point the public and private sector can fully implement them. The selection signals the beginning of the final stage of NISTs post-quantum cryptography standardization project, which will likely become an international reference for the industry. However, it is important to note that the final standards will likely constitute more than one algorithm for different use cases in the event one proves vulnerable. While the standards remain in development, NIST encourages IT professionals to explore the new algorithms and consider how their applications will implement them, while remaining flexible as the algorithms could change before the standard is finalized.

4. The Cybersecurity Threat is Likely to Have Legal Consequences

The advent of quantum computers will likely change the nature of what is considered appropriate cybersecurity or industry standard security practice under privacy laws, industry regulations, and commercial contracts. If organizations wait to invest in solutions to adequately protect their data until after a quantum hack, they put themselves at risk both of losing their data in the future and suffering reputational harm.

Regulations such as Articles 5 and 32 of the European Unions General Protection Regulation (GDPR) require personal data to be stored with appropriate security and protection against unauthorized users and to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of security suitable to the risk. In addition, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires that a business utilize reasonable security in the context of personal information collected or processed for specific purposes. Meanwhile, industry-specific laws such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) include security rules and safeguard requirements to ensure that financial and health data respectively is adequately protected. However, due to the scale at which a quantum computer will likely be able to break current methods of encryption, appropriate protection against a ransomware or other classical cyberattack will likely look far different in the quantum age.

If an organization processes personal data protected under current encryption methods that arent quantum-proof, that may be seen by future regulators as failing to take appropriate security measures to protect personal data and could subject the organization to significant fines under the GDPR as well as the possibility for costly fines and regulatory settlements from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and state regulators. The risk of the immense amount of personal, financial, and other types of data that could be lost or otherwise compromised in a quantum-driven hack will increase the burden companies face in terms of what is an appropriate security measure. Over the coming years, as the NIST standards are finalized, we will likely see a push across the legislative and regulatory landscape to promote implementation of post-quantum algorithms with regulators looking for (i) privacy, cybersecurity, and IT policies to affirmatively address the quantum threat and detail what the company has done to mitigate it and (ii) physical updates to cryptography practices and IT stacks to fortify data, especially sensitive and personal information.

In April 2022, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced The Quantum Cybersecurity Preparedness Act (the Cybersecurity Act), which would ensure NISTs standards are implemented in all US Federal systems within a year after their release and require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to submit a report to Congress on what else is needed to protect quantum computers from hackers. This focus on protecting US government systems will likely spur further legislation and possible regulatory rules requiring similar post-quantum cryptographic standards be instituted across the private sector as well.

Quantum computers also threaten digital signatures, often used to verify identities in a digital transaction or sign documents remotely. While the NIST algorithms address this threat as well, organizations should understand that digital signatures must too be fortified to protect these vital instruments of modern commerce and limit the possibility of widespread identity theft, fraud, and forgery.

These wide-ranging downstream legal consequences must be considered and addressed by business leaders, lawyers, and technologists alike.

5. Quantum Technologies Can Promote Long-Term Cybersecurity

Though the quantum threat to cybersecurity is real with certain data potentially already at risk due to harvest now, decrypt later attacks, the technology must not be seen as the death nail to privacy and cybersecurity. Quantum technologies such as quantum random number generators and quantum key distribution (QKD) can both mitigate the cybersecurity risks posed by quantum computers and strengthen cybersecurity systems that better protect communications and data.

It is paramount to see quantum technologies both as a sword and a shield for cybersecurity. The time is now for organizations to begin the planning and implementation process for post-quantum cryptography while also exploring quantum-enhanced technologies to proactively defend against cyber threats in the quantum age. By taking an all of the above approach investing in different quantum and quantum-enhanced technologies to fortify IT stacks, addressing quantum mitigation measures in policies and programs, and by evaluating quantums pros and cons, organizations can proactively protect their data and limit regulatory scrutiny and legal liability without curbing innovation.

6. You Can Create a Quantum-Safe Organization Today

For organizations, the first steps are to identify vulnerable data and systems and prepare to institute NISTs post-quantum algorithms (and any other government standards regarding quantum cryptographic standards) once they are standardized. Organizations should undertake a quantum-readiness assessment that (i) classifies what data needs protecting and the length of time for which it must be protected and (ii) inventories the types of cryptography protecting critical data. With this information, organizations will be able to label which types of critical data are currently vulnerable to a theoretical quantum attack and can then make necessary plans and investments to ensure that data is adequately protected against both classical and quantum attacks.

Organizations that store financial records, medical records, national security documents, and other sensitive data for long periods of time should immediately consider building post-quantum cryptography into their IT budgets, policies, and strategic planning processes. Failure to start adopting a post-quantum cryptographic strategy could put all existing encrypted data assets at risk of exposure.

The key to protecting data in the quantum age is cryptographic agility which will allow the existing cryptography to be easily swapped out with NIST-approved post-quantum algorithms when they are announced as well as further developments in cryptography and in quantum technologies themselves. This will be a long-term transformation for IT systems akin to Y2K at a larger scale. Integrating an understanding of the quantum threat into policies and programs while also investing the time and resources to begin making systems quantum-safe will be the key to avoiding regulatory scrutiny, protecting sensitive information, and proving to clients, shareholders, and investors that an organization is ready for the quantum age.

Quantum technologies promise a massive impact. As investments and technological evolution continue to increase, organizations must come to terms with quantums vast promise alongside its risks. The cybersecurity danger posed by quantum computing is undeniable. However, rather than fearing quantum technologies, organizations can both seek to address currently intractable business problems via quantum-leveraged solutions and invest in the policy and IT infrastructure necessary to protect data from an attack via a quantum computer. Making this investment in resources now will be the first step in developing the next stage of cybersecurity to protect data long-term both from classical cyberattacks as well as future quantum attacks. Harnessing quantum technologies will be the key to economic growth and building stronger cyber defenses in this dawning age of the technological revolution.

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Welcome to the Quantum Age - 6 Things You Need to Know About Quantum Computing - JD Supra

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Infineon and Oxford Ionics have announced a collaboration to develop a fully integrated quantum processing unit (QPU). The quantum computer is based on trapped-ion technology. The companies aim to offer hundreds of qubits within the next few years, in order to to transition the technology from research to industrial applications.

Building industrial applications requires qubits with low error levels that can be built at massive scale. To address these requirements, the companies tout that with the partnership they will be able to combine Oxford Ionics unique electronic qubit control (EQC) with Infineons expertise in engineering, manufacturing and quantum technology. The companies claim that the EQC technology offers a path to integrate trapped ion qubits into Infineons semiconductor processes.

Since trapped ions are the leading technology, as measured by low quantum error levels, and semiconductor processes solve the scaling problem, this could offer the best of both worlds, explained Chris Ballance, cofounder of Oxford Ionics.

The great challenge in quantum computing is scaling whilst improving performance. There are technologies that can be fabricated at scale but dont perform, and there are technologies that perform but dont scale. Our electronic control is uniquely placed to do both. Working with Infineon and its mature and flexible semiconductor process allows us to speed up the accessibility of a commercial QPU. Due to our market-leading low error rates, these processors need dramatically fewer qubits to solve useful problems than other technologies.

The first Oxford Ionics devices will be available in the cloud by the end of 2022. A fully integrated system with hundreds of qubits is planned within two years. Within five years, the companies aim to create a fully integrated QPU that can then be networked together into a quantum supercomputer using Oxford Ionicss quantum networking technology.

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Infineon and Trapped Ionics enter the quantum computing race - VentureBeat

Physics

Location: GuildfordSalary:32,344 to 33,309 per annumFixed TermPost Type: Full TimeClosing Date: 23.59 hours BST on Friday 05 August 2022Reference:045522

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) position in the theoretical nuclear physics group at the University of Surrey to work on a research project developing and applying quantum computing algorithms to tackle problems in nuclear structure as part of an STFC-funded Developing Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics programme. The work will involve developing new algorithms and/or applying existing algorithms to solve nuclear models such as the shell model and mean field model, and to look at dynamical processes such as nuclear decay.

The successful applicant will join a group working on nuclear quantum algorithms led by Dr Paul Stevenson, and will collaborate with the PhD students in the group, along with other staff members in the nuclear theory group and quantum foundations centre. Outside the university we collaborate with a mix of industry and academic partners. The quantum algorithms group is part of the theoretical nuclear physics group, which sits in the Physics Department along with groups in experimental nuclear physics, astrophysics, radiation and medical physics, soft matter, and photonics. A virtual quantum foundations group links beyond the Physics Department to those working on open quantum systems and other foundational aspects of quantum mechanics research in the University.

The University supports development of research skills as well as generic transferrable skills such as leadership, communication and project management. The Department is diverse and inclusive, and we welcome applications from candidates of any gender, ethnicity or background.

Candidates must hold (or be close to completion of) a PhD in physics, computer science, applied mathematics or a closely related discipline, with a track record commensurate with the ability to work in the stated research area.

Candidates should apply online and provide a CV with publication list, and a 1-2 page covering letter with statement summarising past research.

The position runs for up to two years with a start date ideally as soon as possible. Candidates are encouraged to email Dr Paul Stevenson (p.stevenson@surrey.ac.uk) if they have any questions.

Interviews to take place Wednesday 31 August.

Furtherdetails:JobDescription

Please note, it is University Policy to offer a starting salary equivalent to Level 3.6 (32,344) to successful applicants who have been awarded, but are yet to receive, their PhD certificate. Once the original PhD certificate has been submitted to the local HR Department, the salary will be increased to Level 4.1 (33,309).

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Research Fellow in Quantum Computing job with UNIVERSITY OF SURREY | 300383 - Times Higher Education