Institute for Quantum Computing
| Type | Research institute |
|---|---|
| Director | Raymond Laflamme |
| Location | Waterloo , Ontario , Canada 43°28′44″N 80°33′17″W / 43.478865°N 80.554853°W |
| Affiliation | University of Waterloo |
| Website | iqc.uwaterloo.ca |
The Institute for Quantum Computing, or IQC, located in Waterloo, Ontario, is an affiliate scientific research institute of the University of Waterloo with a multidisciplinary approach to the field of quantum information processing. It is currently located in the Research Advancement Centre at the University of Waterloo.
The institute is led by co-founder and physicist, Raymond Laflamme with researchers based in 6 departments across 3 faculties at the University of Waterloo.
Direction
The IQC seeks to harness quantum mechanics to develop transformational technologies that will benefit society and become a new engine of economic development in the 21st century. It aims to develop and advance quantum information science and technology at the highest international level through the collaboration of computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians and physical scientists.[1]
The institute's three strategic objectives have been stated as:[2]
- To establish Waterloo as a world-class centre for research in quantum technologies and their applications.
- To become a magnet for highly qualified personnel in the field of quantum information.
- To establish IQC as the authoritative source of insight, analysis and commentary on quantum information.
Vision
History
The Institute for Quantum Computing was officially created in 2002, sparked by Research In Motion co-founder Mike Lazaridis and then-president of the University of Waterloo, David Johnston, for research into quantum information. Since inception, Lazaridis has provided more than $100 million in private funding for IQC. The institute is a collaboration between academia, the private sector, and the federal and provincial governments. Raymond Laflamme is the founding executive director and Michele Mosca is founding deputy director.[3]
At its establishment, the institute was composed of only a handful of researchers from the Departments of Computer Science and Physics. Ten years later, there are more than 200 researchers across six departments within the Faculties of Science, Mathematics, and Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
In 2008, IQC moved into the Research Advancement Centre (RAC I) in the University of Waterloo's Research & Technology Park. In 2010, research operations expanded into the adjacent building, Research Advancement Centre 2 (RAC II).
In 2012, IQC will expand to the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre. The 285,000-square-foot facility is shared with the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, and is built to stringent standards (controls for vibration, humidity, temperature, and electromagnetic radiation) for quantum and nanotechnology experiments. The building was designed by Toronto-based firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB).[4]
Research
Research at IQC encompasses the physical sciences, mathematics and engineering from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. Research focus has eight main areas:[5]
- Quantum information theory
- Quantum algorithms
- Quantum complexity
- Quantum error correction and fault tolerance
- Spin-based quantum information processing
- Nanoelectronics-based quantum information processing
- Optical quantum information processing
- Quantum cryptography
Facilities
IQC is currently the principal occupant of the Research Advancement Centre, located in the University of Waterloo’s Research & Technology Park.
The permanent home of the IQC will be in the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC), currently under construction in a central location on the main campus of the University of Waterloo.[6] On June 9, 2008, Mike Lazaridis, together with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, UW President David Johnston, and other guests officially broke ground on the project which will consist of three areas: one to house IQC, one for the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, and a clean fabrication and metrology suite to be shared between the two institutes. It will house offices, laboratory space, and areas for collaboration among researchers. The QNC is scheduled to open September 21, 2012.
People
As of 2012, IQC’s research team consisted of 20 faculty members, 4 research assistant professors, 40 post-doctoral fellows, and 96 students. The institute has expressed intentions to expand to include 33 faculty members, 50 post-doctoral fellows, and 125 students.[7]
Faculty members have appointments in the departments of Physics & Astronomy, Combinatorics & Optimization, Applied Mathematics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Chemistry, and the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. Currently, four IQC faculty members hold Canada Research Chairs in various aspects of quantum information. IQC faculty and postdoctoral fellows also account for 11 of the 26 members of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s Quantum Information Processing Program. Four IQC faculty members also have associate membership at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and another five are affiliate members.
See also
- Quantum computer
- Quantum cryptography
- Quantum information science
- Raymond Laflamme is the director and a professor at IQC
- Michele Mosca is the deputy director and a professor at IQC
- Anthony Leggett, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics, is a part-time faculty member at IQC
References
- ^ IQC Strategic Direction
- ^ IQC Strategic Direction
- ^ "About the Institute". Institute for Quantum Computing. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ "University of Waterloo Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum Nano Centre". Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ IQC Faculty & Research
- ^ [1]
- ^ IQC Communications & Outreach, "IQC Annual Report 2012", 2012.