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The Superposition Guys Podcast, hosted by Yuval Boger, CCO at QuEra Computing

Kathrin Spendier, the technical prize director of XPRIZE Quantum Applications, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Kathrin discussed her role in driving the quantum applications competition. The competition aims to discover quantum algorithms that demonstrate quantum advantage for real-world problems, with a $5 million prize purse divided over three years. She explained the application process, the types of problems targeted, and the importance of collaboration among participants, and much more.

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Yuval Boger: Hello, Kathrin. Thank you for joining me today.

Kathrin Spendier: Thanks for having me, Yuval. Im very excited to be here and looking forward to our conversation.

Yuval: Wonderful. So who are you and what do you do?

Kathrin: So I am currently the technical prize director of XPRIZE Quantum Applications. I started this role about two months ago. Before that, I was a quantum technology evangelist at Quantinuum. My focus was on TKET, Quantinuums open source quantum SDK. I was traveling around universities and telling people about the SDK and how it works. I was very much involved in university outreach. And that pretty much aligns with where I came from before because I was at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs for 10 years. I was a tenured faculty in the physics department and although I wasnt in quantum computing at that time, I actually was a biophysicist. running a research lab on optical microscopy and how to apply it to study live cells. so my background is physics and Im from Austria. and now Im here and Im working with XPRIZE to push the boundaries of quantum applications.

Yuval: What is XPRIZE?

Kathrin: XPRIZE is a nonprofit foundation and its existed for about 30 years. So this year we celebrated our 30-year anniversary. Our main goal is to find challenges we have as humanity. And then in order to overcome these challenges, the idea is that you have a competition in order to get more people involvedscientists, entrepreneurs, individualsto solve these really hard problems that you need to solve in order to make sure that humanity is moving forward. And were not getting stuck in certain areas that might not be good. we have a lot of different prizes. Some of them are about how to achieve clean water. How can we, for example, protect our rainforests, our biodiversity. we have a lot of different prizes that are ongoing right now. And you can learn about them on XPRIZE.org. But pretty much the idea is you have a competition, you have very tough problems, and XPRIZE is trying to make the competitions audacious. So something that pushes you to do more than you normally would do in everyday life. theres a lot of information out there you can read. I think over the 30 years, theres like 10,000 innovators that have joined XPRIZE. So the community is quite big and its growing.

Yuval: The Quantum Challenge of XPRIZE is probably not 30 years old. When did it launch and what is the challenge? Whats the challenge? Whats the prize? What can you tell us about the Quantum Challenge?

Kathrin: Yeah, so the Quantum Challenge launched in March of this year and its a three-year competition, and we have our sponsors who are Google Quantum AI and GESDA. So they came together to form this prize in a three-year competition. And the idea here is that in three years, we hopefully have teams that join and we are hopeful that we come up with an algorithm that actually has quantum advantage for real-world problems. So the idea here is that we have these global challenges which the XPRIZE competitions are all about. And we are trying to make sure that when quantum computing gets to a point where you have very good hardware where you can solve challenging problems, that we also have the algorithms that can support running very meaningful problems. But we are a little bit behind with the algorithm development. So the competition is about finding these algorithms that have quantum advantage and that also solve meaningful problems that help humanity to move forward.

Yuval: If a team is so lucky and so smart to win the prize, how much is the prize or what is the prize?

Kathrin: So the prize purse overall, for the three years is $5 million. And the way XPRIZE has been operating in this competition is that this prize purse is divided up over the competition period. So for XPRIZE quantum applications, the first million dollars, so $1 million out of the $5 million will be given out after phase one is completed sometime near the end of 2025. And up to 20 teams will share this $1 million. And then these 20 teams and possibly some wildcard entries will move forward to phase two. And at the end of phase two, which is completed after three years, so that will be in early 2027, you will have a prize purse of $4 million that is remaining. And up to three winning teams will share $3 million. And then were going to have some runner-ups, possibly two to five that will share $1 million.

Yuval: What does it take to apply? Do I need to select a problem or to suggest a problem? How would people know what they believe they can solve in three years with quantum advantage?

Kathrin: Yes, applications are open until the end of July of this month, so July 31st. And it has kind of three steps to it. Theres a registration form you have to fill out. As a team, you can pretty much be an individual competitor. You can come from a startup company. You can be at a university. You can have teams that have multiple people from different areas. And pretty much you sign up, you register a team, you share some information with us regarding what youre interested in, whats your background, what youre looking forward to in the competition. You can share with us what you would like to submit, but you can also say youre still thinking. So this is a registration form. It takes you five to 10 minutes to fill out. Then we have a registration fee, and then we have the competitor agreement. Thats kind of the legal structure that your team is forming. And then you have an exchange with XPRIZE. And that also has to be reviewed and signed by your entity, which could be a university, for example. And then once all of this is done, you are registered. At this point, you can still be in that initial, nascent phase if you wish.

Yuval: So I basically dont have to say what is the problem I want to solve, just that Im forming a team and agree to the terms of the competition.

Kathrin: So thats totally fine. So we do have three areas of submissions. We call them novel algorithms, where teams come up with a new algorithm that has quantum advantage and is applied to real-world problems. For example, material science, maybe youre developing something that can help in terms of carbon sequestration. Or you can enhance an already existing algorithm. So theres an existing algorithm out there that has been shown to have quantum advantage, but you can enhance it somehow and then also apply it to real-world problems. So imagine right now theres an algorithm out there, people say they have quantum advantage, but in order to apply it, you need to have 100 error-corrected qubits, for example. But if you can go in and you take this quantum algorithm and you can make a change to it, you can show actually that something was overlooked, and now you can bring it more near term, that will be very exciting for an application, for example. Or you can have an algorithm that was developed but initially not thought to be applicable to this problem space. So that could be another entry. But you dont have to be specifically stuck to novel algorithms, enhanced algorithms, or a new application type. You can also maybe have something else you can think of, or you can say, I dont know. I think one-fifth of the teams that have currently filled out the registration form indicated they dont know yet. So there are some, I would say the majority right now, almost a third, will work on novel algorithms.

Yuval: The problems, it seems, have to be helpful to humanity, right? So if a team just found a way to make Shors algorithm run much better or with fewer resources, and the goal is to crack the worlds financial system, thats probably not a good fit for XPRIZE.

Kathrin: Oh, it depends. So we are suggesting that you should look at sustainability problems or other global challenges. But in any case, as a team, you make the argument of why its important. It really depends on the application you can think of, how many people are affected by it. And sometimes these applications may have a larger impact. The problem space is pretty wide and the judging criteria are fairly distributed. So in case you score high in one category, you may score less high in the other, but overall youre still very competitive. So I think you can really explore these things and you never know, maybe you come up with a new idea, a new application. So yeah, I wouldnt be worried about it.

Yuval: What can you tell me about the judges and the judging criteria? Who are they and what are they looking for?

Kathrin: Before the prize was launched, there was a lot of outreach to the current experts in the field. So we have a very diverse group of judges. Theyre also posted on our website if you go xprize.org and then choose the Quantum Applications prize and then scroll down to the Judges. Theres obviously support by Google Quantum AI as one of the sponsors besides GESDA. And then we also have people from Amazon Web Services, we have Harvard University, Microsoft. So we do have judges that are fairly distributed, the categories we thought we needed right now, but judges are still able to enter and help us. So we still have a need for judges and as the applications come in and as teams share more information about their entries, theres room for changing judges in the sense of adding more judges, and I think we will need more judges.

Yuval: If a team develops a new algorithm, do they continue to own that algorithm if they submit it to XPRIZE?

Kathrin: Yes, they own the IP. Yes, that stays with the team. So of course, it then depends on your internal agreement. If the entity youre working with is, for example, a university entity, then you have different rules internally, or if you work for a national lab, for example. So, but in principle, whoever the entity entering the agreement with XPRIZE is, that entity will own the IP.

Yuval: What is the role of a technical director? When should people reach out to you? What kind of questions can you help with?

Kathrin: Thats a good technical question. So if you are in academia, think about the technical director being the same as your NSF program director. I am the point of contact for you. You reach out with the questions, something is not clear, going through a registration process. You have questions about the competitor agreement, you reach out to me. Im your point of contact in that sense. I am here to help you to be most successful in this competition. So there are no barriers to reach out to me. So please do. Thats my role. Im managing the everyday schedule. Im helping, for example, develop the guidelines. Im in contact with judges and advisors to make sure that they give the input. Then Im also helping, for example, to get the word out. So Im doing active outreach as well at the moment. The role will change a little bit as we move forward.

Yuval: Does the team need to show that the algorithm works on an actual computer? So for instance, if theres this new breakthrough algorithm and it requires 500 logical qubits and at the time of judging, there is no computer that can run 500 logical qubits, does that still qualify?

Kathrin: So thats a good question. I have gotten this question a couple of times. So really what were looking for is a quantum algorithm that can be applied at one point where we can apply it on a quantum computer. what the competition is about is how near-term your application is. It doesnt have to be run right now on a quantum computer or in three years. If we get to a point where the hardware is at the stage where you can run your algorithm and where you show advantage, that would be just amazing. But in principle, it doesnt have to be applicable right now. So how near-term, how high-impact, how much of a thought delta is there in your submission.

Yuval: You mentioned that you get this question a lot. What other questions do you get a lot? What is frequently asked that you want to share?

Kathrin: So one question I do get is from young scientists. From students that enter the workforce and are still studying or starting their graduate degrees, for example, theyre asking, Am I even competitive for this kind of competition? And I point out that XPRIZE is a little bit different. XPRIZE Quantum Applications is different than a normal proposal you write. So normally you write a proposal, you get the money and you work on your idea. But for XPRIZE Quantum Applications, you kind of get the award afterwards. So you get the prize after you submit and complete it. And we actively want teams to collaborate. So even though you as an individual dont have all the experience needed, for example, you are not an error correction expert or youre not a classical compute expert. But if you join, theres a possibility of matching up with other teams. So you become an addition to a team. As a team together, you then come up with a very competitive idea. So its about networking as well. Its about starting at a certain level and then throughout the competition, you will develop more experience. You want to get more insights. Youre going to have a better network. And you will contribute with your background. So thats why I tell them, Dont be discouraged. Join. And you dont know who youll find and who you can team up with. So we really want to make sure that people talk to each other. And thats one thing about the competition itself. There was this initial opinion in the field, and especially by the sponsors too, that sometimes quantum algorithm developers, they think about an algorithm, but theyre not necessarily thinking about the application. And if you are, for example, you are a material scientist. You know a problem doesnt work well. And you think maybe quantum computing applies, but you dont really talk to a domain expert or an expert in quantum algorithms. So there is not a good conversation right now. We hope with XPRIZE Quantum Applications, we can overcome that. An algorithm expert would say, Oh, look at this algorithm. It can do this given these bounds. And then the domain expert can say, Oh, cool. Now I know the bounds. So possibly this could be an application. And then theres this exchange that we hope to be able to amplify more. We need more of that in order to push quantum algorithm development forward. And that was one of the reasons why we have this competition right now.

Yuval: If I heard correctly, there are three grand prizes of a million dollars at the end of the event, and then additional teams might share some additional prizes. Could you remind us when is the deadline for registration and how many teams would you hope that show up?

Kathrin: Yeah. Thanks. the registration deadline is July 31st of this month, but we also have something called wildcard entries. So for example, youre working on something, you havent heard about the competition. Or you forgot about it, you forgot to sign up, and then you can have an entry afterward. So, for example, the judges will look at your idea and then you can enter the competition at a later time as well. The earlier you can join, the better it is because we have these team formation events where you can exchange ideas. So thats one part of it. And then I forgot the other question you asked.

Yuval: The other question was how many teams do you think might show up?

Kathrin: Yes. So at the moment, we have over 450 teams that showed interest. So its hard to say, they have to fill out the registration form and the registration fee and the competitor agreement. So in my personal opinion, anything between 100 and 200 teams will be amazing. Thats a big delta, but I think were going to get there. Anything above that number would be stellar. And I dont know, it would be difficult to find a lot of judges for this, but we will do our best. So yes, thats where we are right now.

Yuval: As a former tenured faculty, you will have to grade or initially grade many, many applications to begin with, I think. So you have, I think, a lot of work coming your way.

Kathrin: Thats a lot of work coming my way. My role is to really help the judges develop very well-defined judging criteria so that they can go over the applications and are able to judge them. So theres going to be some review, but really the hard work is done by the judges. So well try to make the role as streamlined as possible.

Yuval: One last, perhaps unrelated to XPRIZE, I wanted to ask you a hypothetical question. If you could have dinner with one of the quantum greats, dead or alive, who would that person be?

Kathrin: Oh, that is a really good question. I think for me, its definitely Einstein. I would love to have dinner with him. Of course, obviously, in his career, there were many, many things he developed, and he was very experienced in, and he pushed a lot of boundaries and new ideas and such. But for me personally, the conversation I would like to have is how did he interact with young minds? How did he inspire them to follow his footsteps? I think this is really something that personally drives me still, being in this field, because I think we need young minds, we need more people that take the torch, that keep pushing forward. And I think its more and more difficult for a very specific field sometimes to get young people excited in what youre doing. Because sometimes they dont see the big purpose, or you get kind of distracted by other things that come your way. And some people come in later in life to find their path in science. So anyways, I would like to know what experience he had and how he would circumvent that in order to push science forward and big discoveries. So that would be great to have this conversation.

Yuval: Wonderful. Kathrin, thank you so much for joining me today.

Kathrin: thank you, Yuval, for having me and looking forward to your next podcast as well. Thank you.

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Superposition Guys Podcast Kathrin Spendier, technical prize director of XPRIZE - The Quantum Insider

Insider Brief

As a professor at Caltech and the director of the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, John Preskill was a pioneer in research that provided the foundations of todays quantum industry. With a rich background in particle physics and fundamental physics, he brings a unique perspective to a conversation of quantum tech past, present and especially future.

In an exclusive interview with CERN, Preskill expertly covered on the current state of quantum computing, its potential applications, and what the future holds for this rapidly evolving field.

Weve picked out some highlights, but the complete interview is advised.

Reflecting on his journey, Preskill said he may have been a little late for investigation into the Standard Model, but he and his colleagues were determined to make an impact.

He told CERN: You could call it a Eureka moment. My generation of particle theorists came along a bit late to contribute to the formulation of the Standard Model. Our aim was to understand physics beyond the Standard Model. But the cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) in 1993 was a significant setback, delaying opportunities to explore physics at the electroweak scale and beyond. This prompted me to seek other areas of interest.

He continues, At the same time, I became intrigued by quantum information while contemplating black holes and the fate of information within them, especially when they evaporate due to Hawking radiation. In 1994, Peter Shors algorithm for factoring was discovered, and I learned about it that spring. The idea that quantum physics could solve problems unattainable by classical means was remarkably compelling.

I got quite excited right away because the idea that we can solve problems because of quantum physics that we wouldnt otherwise be able to solve, I thought, was a very remarkable idea. Thus, I delved into quantum information without initially intending it to be a long-term shift, but the field proved rich with fascinating questions. Nearly 30 years later, quantum information remains my central focus.

Quantum information science and quantum computing challenge conventional understandings of computation, according to Preskill.

Fundamentally, computer science is about what computations we can perform in the physical universe. The Turing machine model, developed in the 1930s, captures what it means to do computation in a minimal sense. The extended Church-Turing thesis posits that anything efficiently computable in the physical world can be efficiently computed by a Turing machine. However, quantum computing suggests a need to revise this thesis because Turing machines cant efficiently model the evolution of complex, highly entangled quantum systems. We now hypothesize that the quantum computing model better captures efficient computation in the universe. This represents a revolutionary shift in our understanding of computation, emphasizing that truly understanding computation involves exploring quantum physics.

Preskill sees quantum information science profoundly impacting other scientific fields in the coming decades. From the beginning, what fascinated me about quantum information wasnt just the technology, though thats certainly important and were developing and using these technologies. More fundamentally, it offers a powerful new way of thinking about nature. Quantum information provides us with perspectives and tools for understanding highly entangled systems, which are challenging to simulate with conventional computers.

He adds, The most significant conceptual impacts have been in the study of quantum matter and quantum gravity. In condensed matter physics, we now classify quantum phases of matter using concepts like quantum complexity and quantum error correction. Quantum complexity considers how difficult it is to create a many-particle or many-qubit state using a quantum computer. Some quantum states require a number of computation steps that grow with system size, while others can be created in a fixed number of steps, regardless of system size. This distinction is fundamental for differentiating phases of matter.

Addressing the relationship between theoretical advancements in quantum algorithms and their practical implementation, Preskill said: The interaction between theory and experiment is vital in all fields of physics. Since the mid-1990s, theres been a close relationship between theory and experiment in quantum information. Initially, the gap between theoretical algorithms and hardware was enormous. Yet, from the moment Shors algorithm was discovered, experimentalists began building hardware, albeit at first on a tiny scale. After nearly 30 years, weve reached a point where hardware can perform scientifically interesting tasks.

He added: For significant practical impact, we need quantum error correction due to noisy hardware. This involves a large overhead in physical qubits, requiring more efficient error correction techniques and hardware approaches. Were in an era of co-design, where theory and experiment guide each other. Theoretical advancements inform experimental designs, while practical implementations inspire new theoretical developments.

Discussing the current state of qubits in todays quantum computers, Preskill commented, Todays quantum computers based on superconducting electrical circuits have up to a few hundred qubits. However, noise remains a significant issue, with error rates only slightly better than 1% per two-qubit gate, making it challenging to utilize all these qubits effectively.

Additionally, neutral atom systems held in optical tweezers are advancing rapidly. At Caltech, a group recently built a system with over 6,000 qubits, although its not yet capable of computation. These platforms werent considered competitive five to ten years ago but have advanced swiftly due to theoretical and technological innovations.

Preskill offered an overview of neutral atom and superconducting systems in the interview.

In neutral atom systems, the qubits are atoms, with quantum information encoded in either their ground state or a highly excited state, creating an effective two-level system. These atoms are held in place by optical tweezers, which are finely focused laser beams. By rapidly reconfiguring these tweezers, we can make different atoms interact with each other. When atoms are in their highly excited states, they have large dipole moments, allowing us to perform two-qubit gates. By changing the positions of the qubits, we can facilitate interactions between different pairs.

In superconducting circuits, qubits are fabricated on a chip. These systems use Josephson junctions, where Cooper pairs tunnel across the junction, introducing nonlinearity into the circuit. This nonlinearity allows us to encode quantum information in either the lowest energy state or the first excited state of the circuit. The energy splitting of the second excited state is different from the first, enabling precise manipulation of just those two levels without inadvertently exciting higher levels. This behavior makes them function effectively as qubits, as two-level quantum systems.

As research teams scale up from a few hundred to a thousand qubits, Preskill said there will be challenges and a need for constant innovation.

He said: A similar architecture might work for a thousand qubits. But as the number of qubits continues to increase, well eventually need a modular design. Theres a limit to how many qubits fit on a single chip or in a trap. Future architectures will require modules with interconnectivity, whether chip-to-chip or optical interconnects between atomic traps.

Unlike classical computing, which requires relatively minimal need for error correction, the sensitivity and intricacy of quantum states represents a formidable hurdle for error correction. Preskill should know a thing or two about error correction hes credited with naming the present era of quantum computing as Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum, or NISQ.

Preskill offers a unique way of describing that noise and the mechanics behind these error-correction algorithms in quantum computers, adding, Think of it as software. Error correction in quantum computing is essentially a procedure akin to cooling. The goal is to remove entropy introduced by noise. This is achieved by processing and measuring the qubits, then resetting the qubits after they are measured. The process of measuring and resetting reduces disorder caused by noise.

The process is implemented through a circuit. A quantum computer can perform operations on pairs of qubits, creating entanglement. In principle, any computation can be built up using two-qubit gates. However, the system must also be capable of measuring qubits during the computation. There will be many rounds of error correction, each involving qubit measurements. These measurements identify errors without interfering with the computation, allowing the process to continue.

As scientists learn about quantum computing, those lessons reverberate across not just quantum science, but other fields of physics, according to Preskill.

When asked if progress in quantum computing teaches us anything new about quantum physics at the fundamental level, Preskill said, This question is close to my heart because I started out in high-energy physics, drawn by its potential to answer the most fundamental questions about nature. However, what weve learned from quantum computing aligns more with the challenges in condensed matter physics. As Phil Anderson famously said, more is different. When you have many particles interacting strongly quantum mechanically, they become highly entangled and exhibit surprising behaviors.

Studying these quantum devices has significantly advanced our understanding of entanglement. Weve discovered that quantum systems can be extremely complex, difficult to simulate, and yet robust in certain ways. For instance, weve learned about quantum error correction, which protects quantum information from errors.

While quantum computing advancements provide new insights into quantum mechanics, Preskill emphasizes that these insights pertain more to how quantum mechanics operates in complex systems rather than foundational aspects of quantum mechanics itself.

This understanding is crucial because it could lead to new technologies and innovative ways of comprehending the world around us.

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CERN Interviews John Preskill on The Past, Present And Future of Quantum Science - The Quantum Insider

Despite a 50% Decline in Overall Tech Investments, Quantum Computing Attracted $1.2 Billion from Venture Capitalists in 2023, According to New Research byBCG

BOSTON, July 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Three years ago, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) published its forecast for the quantum computing market. Since then, both quantum technology and its classical computing counterpart have progressed in unexpected ways, altering the trajectorythough not the overall directionof this evolving market.

In its updated analysis titled, The Long-Term Forecast for Quantum Computing Still Looks Bright, BCG reaffirms its projection that quantum computing will create $450 billion to $850 billion of economic value globally, sustaining a $90 billion to $170 billion market for hardware and software providers by 2040.

"Is quantum computing on the verge of realizing its transformative potential? The answer, at present, is mixed," said Jean-Francois Bobier, a partner and vice president at BCG and a coauthor of the report. "While there are clear scientific and commercial problems for which quantum solutions will one day far surpass the classical alternative, it has yet to demonstrate this advantage at scale. Nonetheless, the momentum is undeniable."

According to the report, despite a 50% drop in overall tech investments, quantum computing attracted $1.2 billion from venture capitalists in 2023, underscoring continued investor confidence in its future. Governments around the world are also making big investments in the technology, envisioning a future in which quantum computing plays a central role in national security and economic growth. Public sector support is expected to exceed $10 billion over the next three to five years, giving the technology enough runway to scale.

In its 2021 report, BCG expected the market to mature in three phases, and this is still the case. The phases are: noisy intermediate-scale quantum, or NISQ (until 2030), broad quantum advantage (2030-2040), and full-scale fault tolerance (after 2040). Despite maintaining confidence in the projected economic value of quantum computing, BCG's previous assumptions for near-term value creation in the NISQ era have proven to be overly optimistic, however, and have been revised.

The NISQ era has not lived up to BCG's expectations because of two factors: technical hurdles in hardware development are proving tough to overcome and competition from classical computing has been fiercer than expected. AI has exceeded expectations in scientific fields, offering viable alternatives for previously difficult to solve problems. However, by leveraging analog methodologies, quantum machines can still deliver tangible value, especially in materials and chemicals simulations, ranging from $100 million to $500 million a year, during the NISQ era.

Despite being a notable reduction from BCG's 2021 projection, this adjustment is not anticipated to significantly affect the market for hardware and software providers. BCG still predicts a provider market valued between $1 billion and $2 billion by 2030, spurred by three factors:

"Our initial optimism about revenue during the NISQ period was well founded," said Matt Langione, a managing director and partner at BCG and a coauthor of the report. "Revenues for tech providers are approaching $1 billion dollars annually. However, the creation of meaningful value for end users is taking longer. Despite important signs of progress and well-defined roadmaps, quantum computing has yet to experience its ChatGPT moment."

Download the publication here: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/long-term-forecast-for-quantum-computing-still-looks-bright

Media Contact:Eric Gregoire +1 617 850 3783 [emailprotected]

About Boston Consulting GroupBoston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholdersempowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

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Quantum Computing On Track to Create Up to $850 Billion of Economic Value By 2040 - PR Newswire

BRISBANE, Australia, July 16, 2024 PsiQuantum has signed a memorandum of understanding with five leading universities in Queensland to help support the growing demand for skills in the quantum computing economy and to explore research projects in adjacent fields.

The consortium of Queensland universities includes the University of Queensland, Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology, University of Southern Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast. This collaboration will provide a framework for academic institutions in Australia to offer opportunities for academic, postgraduate, and undergraduate placements that will attract and retain leading Australian and global talent.

Within this partnership, PsiQuantum will work closely with the five universities to build out targeted educational programs to meet the skills requirements for the rapidly growing sector of quantum computing and other advanced technology industries. These skill sets cover a wide variety of roles from that of quantum applications engineers, mechanical, optical, and electrical engineers; software developers, and technical lab staff.

Australia and Queensland have been world leaders in the field of quantum computing for decades, and this partnership builds upon that foundation, said PsiQuantum CEO & Co-Founder Jeremy OBrien. This collaboration will help ensure that Australia is developing the necessary skills and driving research to continue leading this field for decades to come.

The educational programs will draw input from PsiQuantums teams in the development of study modules, courses, degree, lectures and industry training; providing pathways for traditional STEM careers like engineering and software development into the quantum sector, upskilling diverse scientists to work on critical applications of quantum computing technology, and preparing quantum physicists for the industry revolution. This partnership will also include areas of joint research interest and expand these into larger projects as they progress.

Quantum computers hold the promise of re-engineering how critical industries function, from modeling molecular structures at the subatomic level to bring drugs to market faster to designing new catalysts to help supercharge the efforts in solving climate change and decarbonizing our planet. By targeting the current and future skills needed within the quantum computing sector and the anticipated fields of professional specialization.

Griffith welcomes the MOU with PsiQuantum, commented Professor Carolyn Evans, Griffith University Vice Chancellor and President. The partnership brings opportunities for more Queensland students to build future-focused STEM careers and builds on more than 20 years of leading research in quantum technology here at Griffith and across the state.

Students starting high school this year will graduate into a world with utility-scale quantum computers, said Professor Deborah Terry, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Queensland. We will work with PsiQuantum across the education spectrum from schools, through TAFE, to universities to prepare our students for future jobs in quantum and advanced technologies. Our researchers are also incredibly excited to explore and find projects of common interest with PsiQuantum, taking full advantage of this unique opportunity.

PsiQuantum and the Queensland universities will be ensuring that Australian talent is ready and able to support the burgeoning industry and PsiQuantums first utility-scale, quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia. PsiQuantum CEO & co-founder, Prof. Jeremy OBrien, is himself a beneficiary of Australias leading quantum computing efforts, having been a postdoc, PhD student and undergraduate at the Universities of Queensland, NSW and WA respectively.

At the University of Queensland, Prof. OBrien worked with Prof. Andrew White and Prof. Geoff Pryde, PsiQuantums Senior Director of Technical Partnerships (on leave from Griffith University), together with many others across the Australian ecosystem, on foundational research in the development of photonic quantum computing.

This collaboration aligns with the objectives of Queenslands Quantum and Advanced Technology Strategy and the Australian National Quantum Strategy in fostering a skilled and growing quantum workforce.

About PsiQuantum

PsiQuantumwas founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The companys mission is to build and deploy the worlds first useful, fault-tolerant quantum computing systems. PsiQuantums photonic approach enables it to leverage high-volume semiconductor manufacturing and existing cryogenic infrastructure to rapidly scale its systems.

Source: PsiQuantum

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PsiQuantum and Australian Universities Collaborate to Develop Advanced Quantum Computing Programs - HPCwire

The latest plan for a commercial real estate conversion holds the potential to take Chicago beyond its industrial past and put the citys South Side on the cutting edge of the post-industrial future.

Such hopes were spurred when Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled plans for the state to work with the U.S. Department of Defenses research and development agency to further expand quantum research in Illinois, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The hope is that the emphasis on quantum research a relatively new field that ranges from research to detect diseases immediately through changes to the body at a molecular level to securing digital communications would take shape at a campus dedicated to the field. Leading candidates include two sites on the South Side: the former U.S. Steel South Works, and an old Texaco oil refinery in the Lockport neighborhood.

The steel mill site is in the hands of Japan-based Nippon Steel, which recently bought U.S. Steels remaining assets. Chevron Corporation owns the old Lockport refinery.

A location would be selected in conjunction with entities that are expected to be part of the campus, Pritzker said.

The state would work with the Pentagons Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to develop quantum computing technologies as part of a Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, or QBI.

Were the only state that put forward a quantum campus and quantum plan, Pritzker told the outlet. And the federal government stepping up and becoming an important partner, particularly DARPA, is a lot of validation.

DARPAs mission is to foster technologies with applications for national security it is generally credited as the chief agency behind the development of the Internet.

Pritzker has been pushing to make Chicago the Silicon Valley of quantum development.

The area has an existing base of assets in the field, including research efforts at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Quantum Exchange, a seven-year-old joint venture of the U.S. Department of Energys Argonne and Fermi national laboratories. The exchange is based at the University of Chicagos campus, in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park, and includes the school as well as the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Purdue University in Indiana and the University of Wisconsin as partners.

Pritzkers 2025 budget allocated $300 million in state investment to go toward the development of a campus. DARPA has indicated it will spend up to $140 million on a local project.

The state projects a fully developed quantum campus would bring tens of thousands, and perhaps more, jobs.

Chicago is already home to the Chicago Quantum Exchange, launched in 2017 with Argonne and Fermi national laboratories, and it has one of the largest teams of quantum researchers in the world.

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Pritzker IDs sites for quantum computing venture with DOD - The Real Deal