Covestro considers itself to be on a clear course and well-positioned for the rest of the year following challenging first six months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. At the virtual Annual General Meeting, broadcasted from the World Conference Center in Bonn, CEO Dr. Markus Steilemann confirmed the strategy pursued by the company: The development over the first six months and the economic outlook for the current year show that we still find ourselves in a macroeconomicly difficult situation. However, I am sure that we will steer Covestro through this successfully. We are pursuing a clear, far-sighted strategy that addresses current challenges, but most importanly will secure the companys long-term success.

For a more sustainable restart, Covestro has drawn on a new corporate vision to chart a clear course for the company. Over the long term, the company plans to align its entire production, its range of products and solutions as well as all areas to the circular concept. That means we aim to comprehensively establish the principle of circularity at our company, Steilemann said. Focus topics are alternative raw materials, innovative recycling, joint solutions and renewable energies.

On the path towards achieving a circular economy, Covestro will also be strengthening its innovative capabilities, for example in areas such as digital chemistry. Quantum computing can, for example, enable highly complex chemical reaction processes to be digitally simulated in the future, thus saving considerable time and resources. This would play a vital role in successfully driving the circular economy, Steilemann said. Quantum computing will enable us to take research and development to a completely new level also, and in particular, in regard to the pace at which we can develop innovations, Steilemann explained. The company has only recently announced a research partnership with Google in this area.

Steilemann again confirmed the guidance for the current fiscal year to the shareholders. Although Covestro has been observing a trend of sequential improvement since mid-May, 2020 nevertheless continues to be an exceptional year and the economic environment will remain uncertain in the second half of the year as well. Further developments depend largely on the course taken by the coronavirus pandemic, and this is not completely foreseeable. This makes it all the more important that our measures work and providepositive results already, Steilemann adds.

Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, Covestro had quickly and consistently taken measures to counter the effects on its business, setting clear priorities: Our top priority is to ensure the safety of our employees, business partners and customers. This is followed by maintaining production and supply chains. Equally important to us is to safeguard our strong liquidity position.

Early on, Covestro set the course for sustainably improving efficiency through the companys Perspective program. The company is now benefiting from this as well as from strengthening the short-term cost-saving measures approved at the beginning of this year. By 2020, the aim is to save a total of over EUR 430 million. In addition, the company has adjusted its investment plans and taken various financing measures in the first half of the year, including a new revolving credit facility, short-term working capital facilities, a loan from the European Investment Bank and the issuance of Eurobonds.

To further strengthen Covestros liquidity position in the current exceptional economic environment, the company decided in spring to propose a dividend of EUR 1.20 per share to the Annual General Meeting instead of the originally planned EUR 2.40 per share. This would equal a payout ratio of 40 percent and a new peak in relative terms.

CFO Dr. Thomas Toepfer at the Annual General Meeting: Our policy is to pay out an increased or at least a stable dividend to our shareholders. That was also our intention this year. We will, however, deviate from that policy in 2020 due to the enormous impact of the coronavirus pandemic. I am convinced we have made a balanced decision with this proposed dividend. We are taking the interests of our shareholders into account while at the same time securing our robust liquidity position and credit rating.

Covestro is broadcasting the complete virtual Annual General Meeting, including the Board of Management presentations and the Q&A, live via Webcast athttps://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/w6xzo9wa/lan/enstarting at 10 a.m. CET. Speeches by the Board of Management can also be followed live via LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The manuscripts of the speeches by Dr. Markus Steilemann and Dr. Thomas Toepfer are available online athttps://www.covestro.com/en/investors. The voting results will also be provided there after the Annual General Meeting.

SOURCE: Covestro

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We are pursuing a clear, far-sighted strategy to ensure Covestro's long-term success - Automotive World

Leaders in Congress are taking aim at an ambitious and urgent goal: reverse the decades-long trajectory of decline in the percentage of global chip manufacturing done in America, bolster flat federal investments in chip research, and keep our country on top in semiconductors, the brains of modern technology.

Congress should seize this opportunity. Doing so would strengthen Americas economy and national security, make U.S. supply chains more resilient, and improve our countrys response to future crises.

Two bipartisan bills, the CHIPS for America Act and the American Foundries Act, each call for bold federal investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing incentives and research initiatives. Provisions from the bills were included as amendments in the Senate and House versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which cleared their respective chambers last week and now await action by a conference committee to merge them into final legislation. Similar provisions were included in the HEALS Act, COVID-19 stimulus legislation introduced this week in the Senate.

The chip industry, so instrumental to Americas future, is also a part of our countrys proud past. Semiconductor technology was invented in America more than a half-century ago, and U.S. companies still lead the global market, accounting for nearly half the worlds total chip sales.

But U.S.-located chip manufacturing facilities, or fabs, now produce only 12 percent of the worlds semiconductors, down from 37 percent in 1990. Three-quarters of the worlds chip manufacturing is now concentrated in East Asia. And China is projected to have the single-largest share of production by 2030.

The biggest reason for the decline in chip manufacturing in the U.S. is both simple and fixable. While America ranks high in several criteria companies use to determine where to build fabs IP protection, access to talent, and more the price tag of a new fab is far higher in the U.S. than competing countries. This is largely because other governments offer aggressive incentives in the form of grants and tax credits, while the U.S. government does not.

If the federal government takes action now to close the manufacturing incentives gap, it can right the ship. Due to the ever-increasing demand for semiconductor-enabled products, global chip manufacturing is projected to increase by more than 50 percent in the next 10 years. For about half of this new manufacturing capacity, the fab location is still up for grabs.

One study found with substantial government incentives, close to 20 new major manufacturing facilities would be built in the U.S. over the next decade, a 27 percent increase over the 70 major commercial fabs in the U.S. currently.

Along with a robust domestic manufacturing presence, much of the U.S. semiconductor industrys continued success rests in its ability to out-innovate the competition through massive research investments.

Federal government investments in semiconductor research, however, have been flat as a share of GDP for decades. And federal research funding is just a small fraction of the R&D investments by U.S. semiconductor companies, which totaled nearly $40 billion in 2019. This is significant because federal research plays an essential role in complementing private investments to drive semiconductor innovation and develop the high-tech workforce needed to compete globally.

The benefits of the federal government investing substantially in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research would be three-fold.

First, it would grow the U.S. economy and strengthen our national security. Greater semiconductor innovation would spur advances in the technologies our economy and military rely on. It also would help ensure American leadership in the strategically important technologies of the future, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G/6G, and more. Federal manufacturing incentives would create tens of thousands of new American jobs. And a recent study found every dollar invested by the federal government in semiconductor research adds $16 to U.S. GDP.

Second, a stronger U.S. manufacturing presence would fortify Americas semiconductor supply chains. Uprooting the entire, highly complex global semiconductor supply chain would be impractical and counterproductive. But expanding U.S. chip manufacturing would make America less dependent on chips made overseas, especially for critical defense and infrastructure applications.

Third, these actions would facilitate our response to crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Semiconductors are key components in medical devices treating COVID-19 patients and other ailments and play an important role in medical research to discover new vaccines and cures. Maintaining U.S. leadership in this crucial industry and strengthening supply chain resiliency is essential to Americas post-pandemic future.

Federal investments in chip manufacturing and research will pay big dividends for our country. Congress should seize this strategic opportunity, grab the tiller, and help reinforce Americas global tech leadership, economic strength, and national security for decades to come.

John Neuffer is president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, which represents 95 percent of the U.S. semiconductor industry.

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America has a chance to bolster domestic chip manufacturing, research: Congress should seize it | TheHill - The Hill

As healthcare businesses transform for a post-COVID-19 era, they are embracing digital technologies as essential for outmaneuvering the uncertainty faced by businesses and as building blocks for driving more innovation. Maturing digital technologies such as social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC); emerging technologies such as distributed ledger, artificial intelligence, extended reality and quantum computing (DARQ);and scientific advancements (e.g., CRISPR, materials science) are helping to make innovative breakthroughs a reality.

These technologies are also proving essential in supporting COVID-19 triage efforts. For example, hospitals in China are using artificial intelligence (AI) to scan lungs, which is reducing the burden on healthcare providers and enabling earlier intervention. Hospitals in the United States are also using AI to intercept individuals with COVID-19 symptoms from visiting patients in the hospital.

Because AI and machine learning (ML) definitions can often be confused, it may be best to start by defining our terms.

AI can be defined as a collection of different technologies that can be brought together to enable machines to act with what appears to be human-like levels of intelligence. AI provides the ability for technology to sense, comprehend, act and learn in a way that mimics human intelligence.

ML can be viewed as a subset of AI that provides software, machines and robots the ability to learn without static program instructions.

ML is currently being used across the health industry to generate personalized product recommendations to consumers, identify the root cause of quality problems and fix them, detect healthcare claims fraud, and discover and recommend treatment options to physicians. ML-enabled processes rely on software, systems, robots or other machines which use ML algorithms.

For the healthcare industry, AI and ML represent a set of inter-related technologiesthat allow machines to perform and help with both administrative and clinical healthcare functions. Unlike legacy technologies that are algorithm-based tools that complement a human, health-focused AI and ML today can truly augment human activity.

The full potential of AI is moving beyond mere automation of simple tasks into a powerful tool enabling collaboration between humans and machines. AI is presenting an opportunity to revolutionize healthcare jobs for the better.

Recent research indicates that in order to maximize the potential of AI and to be digital leaders, healthcare organizations must re-imagine and re-invent their processes and create self-adapting, self-optimizing living processes that use ML algorithms and real-time data to continuously improve.

In fact, theres consensus among healthcare organizations hat ML-enabled processes help achieve previously hidden or unobtainable value, and that these processes are finding solutions to previously unsolved business problems.

Despite these key findings, additional research surprisingly finds that only 39% of healthcare organizations report that they have inclusive design or human-centric design principles in place to support human-machine collaboration. Machines themselves will become agents of process change, unlocking new roles and new ways for humans and machines to work together.

In order to tap into the unique strengths of AI, healthcare businesses will need to rely on their peoples talent and ability to steward, direct, and refine the technology. Advances in natural language processing and computer vision can help machines and people collaborate and understand one another and their surroundings more effectively. It will be vital to prioritize explainability to help organizations ensure that people understand AI.

Powerful AI capabilities are already delivering profound results across other industries such as retail and automotive. Healthcare organizations now have an opportunity to integrate the new skills needed to enable fluid interactions between human and machines and adapt to the workforce models needed to support these new forms of collaboration.

By embracing the growing adoption of AI, healthcare organizations will soon see the potential benefits and value of AI such as organizational and workflow improvements that can unleash improvements in cost, quality and access. Growth in the AI health market is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2021 thats a compound annual growth rate of 40%. In just the next couple of years,the health AI market will grow more than 10 times.

AI generally, and ML specifically, gives us technology that can finally perform specialized nonroutine tasks as it learns for itself without explicit human programing shifting nonclinical judgment tasks away from healthcare enterprise workers.

What will be key to the success of healthcare organizations leveraging AI and ML across every process, piece of data and worker? When AI and ML are effectively added to the operational picture, we will see healthcare systems where machines will take on simple, repetitive tasks so that humans can collaborate on a larger scale and work at a higher cognitive level. AI and ML can foster a powerful combination of strategy, technology and the future of work that will improve both labor productivity and patient care.

Brian Kalis is a managing director of digital health and innovation for Accenture's health business.

See the article here:
Now More Than Ever We Should Take Advantage of the Transformational Benefits of AI and ML in Healthcare - Managed Healthcare Executive

Quantum computers promise to be game-changers in fields where there are enormously complex calculations to be carried out. Hoping to use quantum computing to address one of humanitys biggest problems climate change investigators from Microsoft Research and ETH Zurich have developed a quantum algorithm they say is able to simulate catalytic processes extremely quickly. In doing so, they claim that it could be used to find an efficient method for carrying out carbon fixation, cutting down on carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by turning it into useful compounds.

At present, synthetic catalytic processes are discovered using laborious trial-and-error lab experiments. Computer simulations are much faster, but modern computers have a difficult job calculating the properties of very complex molecules. By contrast, Microsofts quantum catalytic simulation algorithm reportedly beats existing state-of-the-art algorithms by 10 times; boding well for the transformational possibilities of using quantum computing as a cornerstone of future chemistry.

Our unique approach pushes the boundaries to deliver the promise of quantum computing and to create unprecedented possibilities for our world, Matthias Troyer, distinguished scientist at Microsoft Research, told Digital Trends. Quantum computing is redefining what is possible with technology, creating unprecedented possibilities to solve humanitys most complex challenges. Microsoft is committed to turning the impossible into reality in a responsible way that brings the best solutions to humanity and our planet.

Troyer explained that the advancements in algorithms gained from this research will serve as a springboard for future work. Microsoft is hoping that it will be able to work alongside the chemistry community to find new ways for quantum computers to help develop new chemical processes, molecules, and, eventually someday, materials. The research is available to read via Microsofts blog.

This isnt the first promising quantum algorithm Digital Trends has covered this month. Recently we wrote about a quantum algorithm that could help revolutionize disease diagnosis. However, like all quantum algorithms, it is going to rely on quantum computers advancing sufficiently in order for researchers to be able to gain the most benefit from it. The hardware this will require is another topic Microsoft discusses in the research paper on this work.

Excerpt from:
Microsofts plan to scrub carbon out of the atmosphere? Quantum computers - Yahoo! Voices

TOKYO, July 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the University of Tokyo unveiled a landmark collaboration with the launch of the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium (QIIC). Expanding from the December 2019 JapanIBM Quantum Partnership initiative, QIIC, aims to accelerate the collaboration between industry, academia, and government to advance Japan's leadership in quantum science, business, and education.

QIIC's main goal is to strategically accelerate quantum computing R&D activities in Japan by bringing together academic talent from across the country's universities and prominent research associations and large-scale industry. The consortium plans to further develop technology for quantum computing in Japan and build an ecosystem to improve student skills and expertise, opening doors to future scientific discoveries and practical quantum applications.

Headquartered at the University of Tokyo, member organizations of QIIC will collaborate to engage students, faculty, and industry researchers with seminars, workshops, and events to foster new quantum business opportunities in Japan. Organizations in agreement to join the consortiuminclude Keio University, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mizuho,MUFG, JSR, DIC, Toyota, Mitsubishi Chemicals and IBM Japan.

These organizations in consortium will also be part of the IBM Q Network the world's first community of Fortune 500 companies, startups, academic institutions and research labs to advance quantum computing and the development of practical applications for it. As part of the network, they will have access to IBM's expertise and resources, and cloud development environment, as well as cloud-based access to the IBM Quantum Computation Center, which includes IBM's most-advanced quantum computers.

In addition to cloud-based access to the IBM's fleet of quantum systems, the QIIC will also have access to an IBM Q System One, a dedicated system planned for installation in Japan in 2021. The first of its kind in the region, and only the second such installation outside of the US, this system along with a separate testbed system to be part of a system technology development lab will support the consortium's goals of next-generation quantum hardware research and development, including cryogenic components, room temperature electronics, and micro-signal generators.

According to Professor Makoto Gonokami, President of the University of Tokyo:

"Society 5.0is the concept of a better future with inclusive, sustainable and a knowledge-intensive society where information and services create value underpinned by digital innovation. The key to realizing this society is to utilize real data in real-time. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to protect and nurture the global environment, an entity of physical space and cyberspace as one, by taking it as a global commons (a concept that encompasses global resources and the ecosystems) which is sustainable and reliable, while the fusion of physical space and cyberspace progresses.

"Quantum technology and quantum computers are indispensable technologies to make that happen. I believe that Japan will play an important role in implementing quantum computing technology to society ahead of rest of the world, and that industry-academia-government collaboration is necessary for this. The QIIC will accelerate quantum technology research and its implementation to the Society 5.0 while firmlysharing each other's wisdom and promoting the close sharing of information."

"Today, I am extremely excited and proud to launch this new consortium that will help foster economic growth and quantum technology leadership in Japan.The QIIC will greatly advance Japan's entire quantum computing ecosystem, bringing experts from industry, government and academia together to collaborate on researchand development," said Dario Gil, Director of IBM Research. "Quantum computing has the potential totackle some of the world's greatest challengesin the future.We expect that it will helpusaccelerate scientific discovery so that we candevelop vaccinesmore quickly and accurately,create new materials toaddressclimate changeor design better energy storage technologies. The potential is massive,andwe will only reach this future if we work together uniting the best minds from the public and private sectors. Universities, businesses and governments have to collaborate so that we can unleash the full potential of quantum computing."

QIIC's members are forging a path for Japan's discovery of practical quantum applications for the benefit of society. The cooperation between industry, academia, and government aims to create a new community for quantum computation research and use cases.

About IBM QuantumIBM Quantum is an industry-first initiative to build quantum systems for business and science applications. For more information about IBM's quantum computing efforts, please visitwww.ibm.com/ibmq.

For more information about the IBM Q Network, as well as a full list of all partners, members, and hubs, visithttps://www.research.ibm.com/ibm-q/network/

About The University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo was established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan. As a leading research university, the University of Tokyo is conducting academic research in almost all fields at both undergraduate and graduate schools. The University aims to provide its students with a rich and varied academic environment that ensures opportunities for acquiring both academic and professional knowledge and skills.

Media Contacts

Chris Nay [emailprotected]

Miri Yasuhara IBM Japan +81 50 3150 7967 [emailprotected]

SOURCE IBM

http://www.ibm.com

Original post:
IBM and the University of Tokyo Unveil the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium to Accelerate Japan's Quantum Research and Development Leadership...

Quantum computers promise to be game-changers in fields where there are enormously complex calculations to be carried out. Hoping to use quantum computing to address one of humanitys biggest problems climate change investigators from Microsoft Research and ETH Zurich have developed a quantum algorithm they say is able to simulate catalytic processes extremely quickly. In doing so, they claim that it could be used to find an efficient method for carrying out carbon fixation, cutting down on carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by turning it into useful compounds.

At present, synthetic catalytic processes are discovered using laborious trial-and-error lab experiments. Computer simulations are much faster, but modern computers have a difficult job calculating the properties of very complex molecules. By contrast, Microsofts quantum catalytic simulation algorithm reportedly beats existing state-of-the-art algorithms by 10 times; boding well for the transformational possibilities of using quantum computing as a cornerstone of future chemistry.

Our unique approach pushes the boundaries to deliver the promise of quantum computing and to create unprecedented possibilities for our world, Matthias Troyer, distinguished scientist at Microsoft Research, told Digital Trends. Quantum computing is redefining what is possible with technology, creating unprecedented possibilities to solve humanitys most complex challenges. Microsoft is committed to turning the impossible into reality in a responsible way that brings the best solutions to humanity and our planet.

Troyer explained that the advancements in algorithms gained from this research will serve as a springboard for future work. Microsoft is hoping that it will be able to work alongside the chemistry community to find new ways for quantum computers to help develop new chemical processes, molecules, and, eventually someday, materials. The research is available to read via Microsofts blog.

This isnt the first promising quantum algorithm Digital Trends has covered this month. Recently we wrote about a quantum algorithm that could help revolutionize disease diagnosis. However, like all quantum algorithms, it is going to rely on quantum computers advancing sufficiently in order for researchers to be able to gain the most benefit from it. The hardware this will require is another topic Microsoft discusses in the research paper on this work.

More here:
Microsofts plan to scrub carbon out of the atmosphere? Quantum computers - Digital Trends

International Business Machines Corp, the U.S. tech firm has announced its partnership with Japanese industry to promote advancements in the field of quantum computing thereby creating a strong synergy between the two nations in such sensitive and emerging field.

Reportedly, participants of this new group which comprise Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. will secure cloud access to IBMs U.S. quantum computers. Moreover, IBM plans to facilitate the group with another quantum computer range IBM Q System One in Japan during the first half of next year.

For the record, the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium constitutes Toyota Motor Corp, chemical manufacturers and financial institutions and will be situated at University of Tokyo. It will aim to strengthen the quantum skill base of Japan and enable technological developments in the companies. Apparently, an agreement was signed last year between IBM and University of Tokyo to extend cooperation in the domain of quantum computing which stipulates superseding of present supercomputers by utilizing the properties of sub atomic particles.

Dario Gil, Director, IBM Research has stated that they have an intention to build a quantum industry which involves efforts on a large scale. He also adds that there is a need to recognize the significance of quantum computing as it is a sensitive and highly competitive technology.

Apparently, the partnership proceeds as competition prevails between China and the United States along with its allies to develop quantum technology which could lead to advancements in artificial intelligence, chemistry and material science.

IBM has stated last September that it would introduce a quantum computer in Germany and sign a partnership with an applied research institute there. Further, IBM aims at enhancing its quantum computer by doubling their power every year and hopes to see its system as an operation behind service powering corporations.

Quantum computers depend on superconductivity that can be procured only in temperatures close to absolute zero, making development of viable systems an intimidating technical challenge.

Source credits: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/ibm-partners-with-japanese-business-academia-in-quantum-computing

Read more here:
Tech giant IBM partners with Japanese industry on quantum computing - ITResearchBrief.com

Keio University, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mizuho, MUFG, JSR, DIC, Toyota, Mitsubishi Chemicals and IBM to expand the country-wide quantum computing research, development and education ecosystem

IBM and theUniversity of Tokyounveiled a landmark collaboration with the launch of the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium (QIIC). Expanding from theDecember 2019JapanIBM Quantum Partnership initiative, QIIC, aims to accelerate the collaboration between industry, academia, and government to advanceJapansleadership in quantum science, business, and education.

QIICs main goal is to strategically accelerate quantum computing R&D activities inJapanby bringing together academic talent from across the countrys universities and prominent research associations and large-scale industry. The consortium plans to further develop technology for quantum computing inJapanand build an ecosystem to improve student skills and expertise, opening doors to future scientific discoveries and practical quantum applications.

Headquartered at theUniversity of Tokyo, member organizations of QIIC will collaborate to engage students, faculty, and industry researchers with seminars, workshops, and events to foster new quantum business opportunities inJapan. Organizations in agreement to join the consortiumincludeKeio University, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mizuho,MUFG, JSR, DIC, Toyota, Mitsubishi Chemicals and IBM Japan.

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These organizations in consortium will also be part of the IBM Q Network the worlds first community of Fortune 500 companies, startups, academic institutions and research labs to advance quantum computing and the development of practical applications for it. As part of the network, they will have access to IBMs expertise and resources, and cloud development environment, as well as cloud-based access to the IBM Quantum Computation Center, which includes IBMs most-advanced quantum computers.

In addition to cloud-based access to the IBMs fleet of quantum systems, the QIIC will also have access to an IBM Q System One, a dedicated system planned for installation inJapanin 2021. The first of its kind in the region, and only the second such installation outside of the US, this system along with a separate testbed system to be part of a system technology development lab will support the consortiums goals of next-generation quantum hardware research and development, including cryogenic components, room temperature electronics, and micro-signal generators.

According to ProfessorMakoto Gonokami, President of theUniversity of Tokyo:

Society 5.0is the concept of a better future with inclusive, sustainable and a knowledge-intensive society where information and services create value underpinned by digital innovation. The key to realizing this society is to utilize real data in real-time. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to protect and nurture the global environment, an entity of physical space and cyberspace as one, by taking it as a global commons (a concept that encompasses global resources and the ecosystems) which is sustainable and reliable, while the fusion of physical space and cyberspace progresses.

Quantum technology and quantum computers are indispensable technologies to make that happen. I believe thatJapanwill play an important role in implementing quantum computing technology to society ahead of rest of the world, and that industry-academia-government collaboration is necessary for this. The QIIC will accelerate quantum technology research and its implementation to the Society 5.0 while firmlysharing each others wisdom and promoting the close sharing of information.

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Today, I am extremely excited and proud to launch this new consortium that will help foster economic growth and quantum technology leadership in Japan.The QIIC will greatly advanceJapansentire quantum computing ecosystem, bringing experts from industry, government and academia together to collaborate on researchand development, saidDario Gil, Director of IBM Research. Quantum computing has the potential totackle some of the worlds greatest challengesin the future.We expect that it will helpusaccelerate scientific discovery so that we candevelop vaccinesmore quickly and accurately,create new materials toaddressclimate changeor design better energy storage technologies. The potential is massive,andwe will only reach this future if we work together uniting the best minds from the public and private sectors. Universities, businesses and governments have to collaborate so that we can unleash the full potential of quantum computing.

QIICs members are forging a path forJapansdiscovery of practical quantum applications for the benefit of society. The cooperation between industry, academia, and government aims to create a new community for quantum computation research and use cases.

Recommended AI News: Siduri Winery Serves Up Holographic Augmented Reality Experience

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IBM and the University of Tokyo Unveil the Quantum Innovation Initiative - AiThority

This month, Insights & Outcomes will turn your head with spinning electrons, prolific plankton, and the biology of sex.

As always, you can find more science and medicine research news onYaleNews Science & TechnologyandHealth & Medicinepages.

The group of single-celled marine organisms known as planktic foraminifera are among the most prolific shell producers in the open ocean. They leave behind one of the most extensive fossil records on the planet, and they allow scientists to reconstruct Earths climate history. Yet little was known about their life history until now. A research team led by Yale paleontologistCatherine Davisgrew a generation of planktic foraminifera in the lab and documented the organisms full life cycle. The team confirmed the organisms apparent ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually, and found that the shells of cloned siblings grown together in the laboratory can look strikingly different from each other. These results have broad impacts on how foraminifera fit into food webs, how vanishingly small populations can rapidly respond to their environment, and perhaps even their long-lived success as a group, said Davis, a postdoctoral associate in the lab ofPincelli Hull, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and co-author of the study.The study appears in Science Advances.

Since 2003, the lab of YalesMark Gersteinhas played a major role in an international effort to catalog data on the complex interactions between genes and the segments of DNA and RNA that regulate their functions. The latest findings of the ENCODE project were published July 29 in 30 papers, four spearheaded by Gersteins lab, in a variety of scientific journals.Jing ZhangandDonghoon Leefrom Gersteins lab have createda video illustrating sciences evolving understandingof the complex regulatory networks that can contribute to cancer and other diseases.The latest findings by the Gerstein lab and other major ENCODE contributors can be found on the Gerstein lab website.

YalesNina Stachenfeldbelieves that to understand disease, scientists must understand the biology of sex. So she is helping to launch a series of papers for publication in The FASEB Journal that explores the systemic role sex plays in human physiology. Stachenfeld, a fellow at the John B. Pierce Laboratory and professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, has enlisted contributions from half a dozen scientists to explore a variety of topics, including the role sex plays in addiction and the biology of high blood pressure in people of different races. The series,Sex as a Variable in Human Research: A Systems Approach,will appear over the next few months in The FASEB Journal.

A research result by Yale physicists lends credibility to an exotic proposal for safeguarding quantum information called topological quantum protection. Topological quantum protection is an alternative to Yales primary approach to fault tolerant quantum computing based on active error correction. Rather, it involves a theoretically proposed entity called a Majorana quasiparticle, which has not yet been directly observed. A team led byMichel Devoret, the F.W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Physics, has applied the tools of circuit quantum electrodynamics to achieve the continuous monitoring of a quasiparticles spin, a promising step toward detection of Majorana quasiparticles. The Yale team includesMax Hays,Valla Fatemi,Kyle Serniak, andSpencer Diamond. Thestudy appears in Nature Physics.

When pathogens or cancer cells develop resistance to drug treatment, researchers usually try to develop new drugs. But a new study by Yale researchers helps bolster a new strategy taking advantage of evolutionary processes to combat drug resistance through drug-sensitive pathogenic cells. The new approach, known as adaptive therapy, offers an alternative to prolonged and high-dose drug treatment for cancer or infections. Adaptive therapy calls for an intermittent series of lower dose treatments that kill fewer disease-causing cells but also decrease the chances that those cells develop resistance to the drugs. In other words, as long as a pathogen or cancer remains responsive to a drug, it may be wiser, in some instances, to manage a disease rather than trying to eradicate it at the expense of an elevated risk of drug resistance evolution, saidSergey Melnikov, lead author of the new study. It is based on his work in the lab of YalesDieter Soll, Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and professor of chemistry. In a laboratory experiment, Melnikov and Soll gave adaptive therapy a boost by adding the amino acid norvaline to the antibiotic tavaborole to combat drug-resistant E. coli. Norvaline impairs the ability of E. coli cells to produce cells resistant to tavaborole by hindering their ability to mutate, allowing antibiotic-sensitive cells to outcompete antibiotic-resistant ones. By integrating Darwinian principles of natural selection into therapeutic treatment of a disease,we can significantly prolong the effectiveness of drugs or give a second life for drugs that are currently abandoned due to rapid evolution of resistance, said Melnikov, now a group leader at Newcastle University.The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Read the rest here:
Insights & Outcomes: a new spin on quantum research, and the biology of sex - Yale News

TOKYO,July 30, 2020 IBM and theUniversity of Tokyounveiled a landmark collaboration with the launch of the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium (QIIC). Expanding from theDecember 2019JapanIBM Quantum Partnership initiative, QIIC, aims to accelerate the collaboration between industry, academia, and government to advanceJapansleadership in quantum science, business, and education.

QIICs main goal is to strategically accelerate quantum computing R&D activities inJapanby bringing together academic talent from across the countrys universities and prominent research associations and large-scale industry. The consortium plans to further develop technology for quantum computing inJapanand build an ecosystem to improve student skills and expertise, opening doors to future scientific discoveries and practical quantum applications.

Headquartered at theUniversity of Tokyo, member organizations of QIIC will collaborate to engage students, faculty, and industry researchers with seminars, workshops, and events to foster new quantum business opportunities inJapan. Organizations in agreement to join the consortiumincludeKeio University, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mizuho,MUFG, JSR, DIC, Toyota, Mitsubishi Chemicals and IBM Japan.

These organizations in consortium will also be part of the IBM Q Network the worlds first community of Fortune 500 companies, startups, academic institutions and research labs to advance quantum computing and the development of practical applications for it. As part of the network, they will have access to IBMs expertise and resources, and cloud development environment, as well as cloud-based access to the IBM Quantum Computation Center, which includes IBMs most-advanced quantum computers.

In addition to cloud-based access to the IBMs fleet of quantum systems, the QIIC will also have access to an IBM Q System One, a dedicated system planned for installation inJapanin 2021. The first of its kind in the region, and only the second such installation outside of the US, this system along with a separate testbed system to be part of a system technology development lab will support the consortiums goals of next-generation quantum hardware research and development, including cryogenic components, room temperature electronics, and micro-signal generators.

According to ProfessorMakoto Gonokami, President of theUniversity of Tokyo:

Society 5.0is the concept of a better future with inclusive, sustainable and a knowledge-intensive society where information and services create value underpinned by digital innovation. The key to realizing this society is to utilize real data in real-time. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to protect and nurture the global environment, an entity of physical space and cyberspace as one, by taking it as a global commons (a concept that encompasses global resources and the ecosystems) which is sustainable and reliable, while the fusion of physical space and cyberspace progresses.

Quantum technology and quantum computers are indispensable technologies to make that happen. I believe thatJapanwill play an important role in implementing quantum computing technology to society ahead of rest of the world, and that industry-academia-government collaboration is necessary for this. The QIIC will accelerate quantum technology research and its implementation to the Society 5.0 while firmlysharing each others wisdom and promoting the close sharing of information.

Today, I am extremely excited and proud to launch this new consortium that will help foster economic growth and quantum technology leadership in Japan.The QIIC will greatly advanceJapansentire quantum computing ecosystem, bringing experts from industry, government and academia together to collaborate on researchand development, saidDario Gil, Director of IBM Research. Quantum computing has the potential totackle some of the worlds greatest challengesin the future.We expect that it will helpusaccelerate scientific discovery so that we candevelop vaccinesmore quickly and accurately,create new materials toaddressclimate changeor design better energy storage technologies. The potential is massive,andwe will only reach this future if we work together uniting the best minds from the public and private sectors. Universities, businesses and governments have to collaborate so that we can unleash the full potential of quantum computing.

QIICs members are forging a path forJapansdiscovery of practical quantum applications for the benefit of society. The cooperation between industry, academia, and government aims to create a new community for quantum computation research and use cases.

About IBM Quantum

IBM Quantum is an industry-first initiative to build quantum systems for business and science applications. For more information about IBMs quantum computing efforts, please visitwww.ibm.com/ibmq.

For more information about the IBM Q Network, as well as a full list of all partners, members, and hubs, visithttps://www.research.ibm.com/ibm-q/network/

About TheUniversity of Tokyo

TheUniversity of Tokyowas established in 1877 as the first national university inJapan. As a leading research university, theUniversity of Tokyois conducting academic research in almost all fields at both undergraduate and graduate schools. The University aims to provide its students with a rich and varied academic environment that ensures opportunities for acquiring both academic and professional knowledge and skills.

Source: IBM

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IBM, University of Tokyo Launch the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium - HPCwire