The LQC Celebrates World Quantum Day!

April 14, 2022 marks the first global celebration of World Quantum Day. The Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS) Qubit Collaboratory (LQC) joins in this initiative along with scientists from more than 65 countries. To celebrate this event, we would like to focus on our greatest assets: our people and the work they do to push the boundaries within the Quantum Information Science (QIS) space.

In addition to being the Director of the LQC, Dr. Charles Tahan is leading the coordination effort of the National Quantum Initiative (NQI). Check out the National Quantum Coordination Office page on quantum.gov for ongoing quantum-related activities. He also wrote a letter about the importance of quantum for the next generation. You can read that letter here. The latest official report from the Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science, which Dr. Tahan co-chairs, helps explain what it takes to bring quantum sensors to fruition. Read more of that report here.

Dr. Christopher Richardson, Deputy Director of the LQC, serves as one of the co-chairs of the National Science & Technology Council Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science Interdepartmental Working Group on Workforce that released the Quantum Information Science and Technology Workforce Development National Strategic Plan on February 1, 2022. You can read more about that plan here.

Dr. Bob Butera leads the LQC’s atomic fabrication efforts and was recently featured in a video on Intel.gov, where he describes how atomistic fabrication takes skill, patience, and a steady hand. He is building a bridge to the new world of quantum computing, one tiny atom at a time. Sure it might seem like an impossible mission, but he also calls it basically the coolest thing ever.

Dr. Yariv Yanay recently published an article entitled “Measuring the Speed of Quantum Information.” In it, he writes: “while the field has been advancing at breakneck speed for the last decade and more, the fidelity of current devices remains far from what is required for such applications. This is because these requirements are very stringent: digital algorithms generally need to be able to run a full calculation without a single mistake.” Read more here.

The LQC researchers are already doing a lot of great things in QIS. It is also an exciting time for QIS education and career development. The LQC is continuing to help support the growth of the next generation of QIS professionals by hosting its 2nd Annual Summer of Quantum Short Course July 25 – August 5, 2022. This 2-week course for rising undergraduate seniors – 2nd year graduate students is designed to provide an onramp into QIS. Consider joining us! Learn more about it here.

Happy World Quantum Day!