IQC faculty secure more than $1 million in federal funding
Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) faculty Dr. Adrian Lupascu, professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Drs. Michal Bajcsy and Bradley Hauer, professors, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have received more than $1 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), a non-profit corporation that supports research infrastructure through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF).
They are among 26 University of Waterloo researchers who received more than $4.3 million in total.
Dr. Adrian Lupascu, professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, is an experimental physicist interested in the quantum dynamic of various types of physical systems and the application of quantum effects to build new types of detectors and quantum information processors. He works with superconducting quantum devices (SQDs), an important technology for quantum information.
With these funds, he will purchase a modern, state-of-the-art dilution refrigerator (DR), a key component of the infrastructure required for his research, allowing Lupascu to continue his groundbreaking research into SQDs, in areas including improving the building blocks of quantum computers and fundamental tests of relativistic quantum information. His co-principal investigators are IQC faculty Dr. Christine Muschik, professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Dr. Eduardo Martin-Martinez, Department of Applied Math.
Dr. Michal Bajcsy's team in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, which includes additional teams led by Dr. Michael Reimer and Dr. Nathan Fitzpatrick, is developing ultra-precise fabrication tools using an Atomic Layer Etcher to create quantum devices with fewer defects and higher efficiency.
This new nanofabrication infrastructure will enable advances in quantum photonic technologies such as sources of entangled light, single-photon detectors and quantum memories, which support Canada’s National Quantum Strategy and strengthen leadership in quantum innovation and training.
Dr. Bradley Hauer, professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, researches superconducting circuits for quantum sensing and communication technologies.
His team is building a cryogenic system to study electrical and mechanical motion at the quantum level, advancing device performance and fundamental understanding. The project contributes to Canada’s growing quantum industry and trains specialists in advanced measurement.