After a century stuck in textbooks, mind bending quantum effects are about to power mainstream innovation. The Economist (March, 2017)
Momentum toward the development of a new large scale global industry based on new transformative quantum technologies continues to grow and researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) continue to play a leadership role in advancing our fundamental knowledge of quantum information science and in developing new quantum technologies.
IQC continues to recruit the very best researchers to Waterloo with a particular focus on the strongest younger talent. I want to welcome Christine Muschik and William Slofstra - new recruits to IQC in the past year. With 29 research faculty, IQC has been noted as the largest centre of its kind in the world.
I also want to recognize the important advances to our knowledge of quantum information by IQC researchers over the past year. Highlights include the following:
- Collaboration by Kevin Resch’s group with Perimeter Institute researchers led by Robert Spekkens to explore a new approach for learning about nature including testing quantum theory;
- Work by Raymond Laflamme, Jonathan Baugh and Bei Zeng toward improved quantum control by bootstrapping a 12 qubit quantum processor;
- Physics World recognized the work from Thomas Jennewein and Kevin Resch’s groups reporting the observation of three-photon interference as a 2017 physics breakthrough;
- Thomas Jennewein’s group also reported a successful airborne QKD test, a key step towards satellite deployment;
- Michael Reimer reported in Nature on a new bright source of entangled photons based on nanowires; and
- Dmitry Pushin and David Cory’s group demonstrated new control methods to prepare orbital angular momentum states of both neutrons and photons.
I am also excited by IQC’s critical contribution to the growing number of new quantum technology start-ups in the Quantum Valley. For example, a quantum ESR technology start-up founded by an IQC researcher has developed technology that is literally 100,000 times more powerful and more sensitive than existing classical technologies. A quantum-safe encryption start-up in the Quantum Valley involving IQC researchers has developed a “quantum-safe” technology platform that will enable customers to protect their sensitive records from quantum computer attack with a software update. This start-up is also enabling Canada to play a leading role in the development of new global standards for quantum safe technologies.
In last year’s report remarks, I noted the award to IQC of $76 million as part of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Matching funds from the University of Waterloo and industry including Quantum Valley Investments has resulted in IQC’s $140 million Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT) effort led by Professor David Cory. TQT will help IQC to continue to play a global leadership role in the development of a general-purpose quantum computer, quantum sensor technology, new quantum materials and quantum encryption technology.
I also want to note the important IQC effort led by Professor Thomas Jennewein in partnership with the Canadian Space Agency that is developing technology to enable the transfer of QKD encrypted data over long distances via satellites and thereby helping to solve a material limitation with QKD efforts around the world.
No discussion on IQC would be complete without an update on its general-purpose quantum computer efforts. Researchers at IQC are focused on the engineering of how to connect a large number of qubits like many other groups around the world. That said, what really sets IQC apart from other efforts around the world is IQC’s extensive efforts to develop a quantum system that has less inherent noise. IQC researchers know that you can’t build a useful quantum computer without tackling this fundamentally difficult issue and believe that their efforts to develop solutions in this regard upfront will have critical long-term benefits in their effort to develop a general-purpose quantum computer
In the past year, IQC Founding Director Raymond Laflamme stepped down from this role after 15 years. His leadership and his many contributions as Founding Director helped establish IQC as one of a handful of quantum centres in the world. I want to personally thank Raymond for his leadership, his hard work and his invaluable contribution.
I am pleased that Raymond will continue to play a critical role at IQC as the holder of the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis John von Neumann Chair. Raymond is a world leading expert in quantum error correction and his work in this regard will be a critical part of IQC’s effort toward a quantum computer with less inherent noise. I am thrilled that Raymond has chosen to continue to play such an important role at IQC and am very pleased to have helped the University of Waterloo to make this happen.
IQC builds on top of the entrepreneurial culture that has led to the global recognition and success of the University of Waterloo. This unprecedented multidisciplinary 15 year university wide effort to harness the power of quantum information science and quantum and nano materials technology will provide the University of Waterloo a unique and globally competitive advantage for decades to come.
Mike Lazaridis, O.C., O.Ont., FRS, FRSC
Chair, IQC Board of Directors
