Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) student Tomas Jochym-O’Connor (Department of Physics) earned a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. The prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship awards $50,000 per year over the next three years.
The scholarship — one of 166 awarded to exceptional young scientists across Canada — will assist Jochym-O’Connor to further his research focused on fault-tolerant quantum computing. It will also enable him to attend international conferences and workshops where he has the opportunity to discuss research questions with researchers around the world and develop collaborations.
Jochym-O’Connor is currently focused on two main questions:
- How can we achieve scalable quantum computing through fault-tolerance?
- How can we minimize the overall number of physical resources necessary for fault-tolerant quantum error correction?
With many innovative experiments showing progress towards scalable quantum computing, Jochym-O’Connor hopes that they will be able to soon test his ideas experimentally. His personal goal is to develop and improve upon fault-tolerant protocols to address various error models and experimental constraints that future physical experiments may present.
“I believe that the scholarship will increase my ability to focus all of my energy on my research,” said Jochym-O’Connor. “I can now explore interesting research directions in greater depth.”
The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program, which was created by the Government of Canada in 2008, is designed to attract and retain world-class doctoral students. Jochym-O’Connor was one of nine University of Waterloo students to earn the funding this year.