WATERLOO, Ont. (Tuesday, June 26, 2012) – The University of Waterloo today received two prestigious grants designed to enable leading scientists to mentor and train promising young researchers in quantum information science. Professors David Cory and Michele Mosca, both from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), received grants worth $1.65 million each to pursue unique training programs in cutting-edge quantum research.
The Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grants support the training of teams of exceptional students and postdoctoral fellows by encouraging and improving collaboration, and gaining professional skills and relevant experience while addressing important scientific challenges. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) funds these grants. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, announced the awards at an event at the
Waterloo campus today.
“Waterloo researchers are known internationally for being among the best in the world,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president & vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “The CREATE grants promote the cultivation of excellent research talent, and this funding will assist these leaders in making meaningful scientific discoveries while training the next generation of great research talent.”
Professor David Cory will use the CREATE funding to launch a project called the Program on Neutron Science and Engineering of Functional Materials. The project will train graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and undergraduates in the use and development of quantum information processing and neutron methods. Cory is a Canada Excellence Research Chair in quantum information processing.
Cory says his program will explore the intersections of quantum information science and neutron research, aiming to "transform neutron interferometry into a practical tool for characterizing materials, including magnetic and biochemical samples."
Professor Michele Mosca received the funding for his project, Building a Workforce for the Cryptographic Infrastructure of the 21st Century. The program will bring together researchers, organizations and industry to prepare the new generation of researchers to pioneer a new global infrastructure for ultra-secure cryptography in the quantum era.
“Future technologies, such as quantum computers, will be powerful enough to break codes we currently rely on to protect private data, so we must harness and deploy new cryptographic tools that will be secure in a quantum world,’” said Mosca, IQC deputy director and co-founder. “This CREATE program will give the next generation of mathematicians, scientists and engineers unprecedented training and opportunities in this fast-changing field.”
Additional support, including funding from Waterloo, doubles Mosca’s total research dollars to $3.3 million, and increases Cory’s funding to more than $2.25 million in order to carry out their research as members of IQC.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 34,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.
About the Institute for Quantum Computing
The Institute for Quantum Computing is a scientific research institute at the University of Waterloo harnessing the quantum laws of nature to develop powerful new technologies that will transform information technology and drive the 21st century economy. The institute's researchers are appointed in the Faculties of Mathematics, Science and Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Visit www.iqc.uwaterloo.ca.
Media Contacts:
Pamela Smyth
Media Relations Officer
Communications & Public Affairs
University of Waterloo
519.888.4777
psmyth@uwaterloo.ca
www.newsrelease.uwaterloo.ca
Colin Hunter
Senior Communications Officer
Institute for Quantum Computing
University of Waterloo
519.888.4567 ext. 38927
colin.hunter@uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo news release no. 54
