Its oft said, but bears repeating: The money in the 49er Gold Rush was made by the suppliers much more than the miners. Enduring companies were built by selling picks, shovels and blue jeans.

The story plays out again today. Behind each breakthrough in quantum computing qubit-counts is a large collection of laboratory test equipment. Signal generators, arbitrary waveform generators, digitizers, oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers and network analyzers are vital as quantum players coax ions, photons and superconducting qubits into calculating problems.

Thoughts along this line piqued our interest as we took part in the quantum computing portions of Keysight Technologies online Keysight World Innovate conference, held recently. Keysight, and competitors such as Anritsu and Tektronix, are busy coming up with tooling to scale the quantum cliffs.

Theres a lot of excitement about this technology and governments all around the world are investing in the research and development required to scale this up, Shohini Ghose, Ph.D., a quantum physicist at Wilfrid Laurier University, said in a keynote at Keysight World.

Its a very exciting time, [but] its not quite clear where this technology will go, she said.

Ghoses emphasis on large-scale investment is borne out by the numbers. Estimates of government and private efforts to spur quantum science and technology, according to Quantum Resources and Careers (QURECA), point to current worldwide investments reaching almost $30 billion, with the overall global quantum technology market projected to reach $42.4 billion by 2027.

Quantum R&D labs likely make up a small portion of the overall test and measurement market, which is expected to increase modestly from $27.7 billion in 2021 to $33.3 billion in 2026. But the market for testing tools used in quantum R&D labs will grow if the promise of quantum computing is to be successfully tapped.

A central part of Keysights test bed for development of quantum computers, sensors and network equipment is its Quantum Control System (QCS), which was introduced in June. QCS components support direct digital conversion of signals and include low-noise distributed clocking. A Keysight manager explained how that works and why it matters in testing.

QCS leverages FPGA timing and synchronizations for multichannel and multichassis operations, said Giampaolo Tardioli, vice president for Keysights Communications Solutions Group, speaking at the event.

Such traits are important as the quantum community looks to scale up its qubit counts. Important as well is software support, added Tardioli, who pointed to Keysights work to support QCS with Python APIs.

Keysights credentials for the quantum quest could not feature more vaunted lineage, as the company grew out of the original Hewlett-Packard test equipment that sprung from the Palo Alto, California, garage of Messrs. Hewlett and Packard in the 1930s. The garage is regularly cited as the birthplace of Silicon Valley.

Keysight has pursued quantum lab tech both organically (almost 100 scientists and engineers were involved in the creation of QCS) and through acquisition. Its quantum road map includes acquisition of modular measurement startup Signadyne in 2016, qubit control software maker Labber in 2020 and error diagnostics specialist Quantum Benchmark in 2021.

Although they still lag behind classical computers by most measures, quantum computers have made steady and perhaps increasing progress in recent years.

But many challenges lie ahead before quantum computers can be integrated into business operations, according to Patrick Moorhead, CEO and chief analyst, Moor Insights and Strategy, who spoke at Keysight World.

The biggest hurdle to jump over is error correction, Moorhead said, noting that a classic computer can do trillions of calculations before it gets an error, but such errors in quantum systems today tend to occur after about 100 to 200 calculations.

Much of Keysights quantum test focus these days is on understanding the impact of errors and how current techniques can remove or elude them. Its an important part of understanding just where the industry is on the road to quantum adoption.

For his part, Moorhead said his analyst firm is expecting a major breakthrough in error correction sometime this year. Even then, there is more prospective work ahead.

If error correction research is progressing at the rate we believe, it could take three to five years until it is usable in systems, he said.

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DUBAI, United Arab of Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Breakthroughs in quantum computing will enable humans to cure diseases like cancer, Alzheimers, and Parkinsons as easily as we treat the common cold.

That was one of the major insights to emerge from the Dubai Future Forum, with renowned theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku telling the worlds largest gathering of futurists that humanity should brace itself for major transformations in healthcare.

The forum concluded with a call for governments to institutionalize foresight and engrain it within decision making.

Taking place in Dubai, UAE at the Museum of the Future, Amy Webb, CEO of Future Today Institute, criticized nations for being too pre-occupied with the present and too focused on creating white papers, reports and policy recommendations instead of action.

Nowism is a virus. Corporations and governments are infected, she said.

One panel session heard how humans could be ready to test life on the Moon in just 15 years and be ready for life on Mars in another decade. Sharing his predictions for the future, Dr. Kaku also said there is a very good chance humans will pick up a signal from another intelligent life form this century.

Dr. Jamie Metzl, Founder and Chair, OneShared.World, urged people to eat more lab-grown meat to combat global warming and food insecurity.

If we are treating them like a means to an end of our nutrition, wouldnt it be better instead of growing the animal, to grow the meat? he said.

Among the 70 speakers participating in sessions were several UAE ministers. HE Mohammad Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees and Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, said ministers around the world should think of themselves as designers of the future. Our stakeholders are 7.98 billion people around the world, he noted.

Dubais approach to foresight was lauded by delegates, including HE Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, who said: What makes our city and nation successful is not natural resources, but a unique ability to embrace all ideas and individuals.

More than 30 sessions covered topics including immortality, AI sentience, climate change, terraforming, genome sequencing, legislation, and the energy transition.

*Source: AETOSWire

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Cancer to Be Treated as Easily as Common Cold When Humans Crack Quantum Computing - Business Wire

As we look at some of the future technologies that are shaping the world today, investors can turn to exchange traded fund strategies to capture these growing opportunities.

In the recent webcast, Invest in Tomorrows Disruptive Technology Today, Sylvia Jablonski, CEO and CIO of Defiance ETFs, noted that the global quantum computing market could be worth $949 million by 2025, compared to a global market value of $89 million back in 2016, projecting a growth rate of more than 10 times by 2025.

Jablonski argued that growth will only accelerate in the quantum computing space as the technology matures. For example, the quantum computing growth of quantum computing systems produced by organizations in qubits was only two back in 1998 but has jumped to 128 as of 2019.

Looking ahead, Jablonski estimated a 43% compound growth rate of the quantum computing industry from 2020 through 2030.

Many will continue to adopt the quantum computing algorithm due to its polynomial runtime, which decreases the time needed to solve complex problems. For example, a problem that requires 3,300 years to solve under a classical algorithm with exponential runtime would take only take 11 minutes under a quantum algorithm with polynomial runtime.

Quantum computing is already being applied. The banking and finance sub-segment is expected to have the fastest growth in the global market mainly because of the growing adoption of quantum computing.

To access this growing opportunity, investors can take a look at the Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM), which offers investors liquid, transparent, and low-cost access to companies developing and applying quantum computing and other transformative computing technologies by tracking the BlueStar Quantum Computing and Machine Learning Index.

Along with quantum computing, Paul Dellaquila, president of Defiance ETFs, highlighted the growth potential of next-generation communication services through 5G networking.

Dellaquila noted that the global 5G services market size was estimated at $64.54 billion in 2021 and is expected to hit around $1.87 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 44.63% during the forecast period of 2022 to 2030.

Looking ahead, Dellaquila anticipated 5G subscriptions to reach 4.4 billion globally by the end of 2027, or the majority of total global mobile subscriptions. More than 615 million 5G devices have already been shipped in 2021. Additionally, there will be an estimated 1.8 billion 5G connections by 2025, led by Asia and the United States.

Dellaquila also pointed out that 5G applications cover a vast swathe of global segments, including enterprises, consumer, and government sectors.

Investors can turn to something like the Defiance Next Gen Connectivity ETF (FIVG) for liquid, transparent, and low-cost access to companies engaged in the research and development or commercialization of systems and materials used in 5G communications.

In addition, Jablonski highlighted the first inverse blockchain ETF, Defiance Daily Short Digitizing the Economy ETF (IBIT), to serve sophisticated investors by offering a convenient and cost-effective way to short up to 80% of the blockchain ecosystem. IBIT aims to reflect the inverse performance of BLOK, the Amplify Transformational Data ETF, daily. IBIT may help reduce the drawdown of these underlying assets or simply benefit by going long with an ETF that captures the fall of the theme.

Financial advisors interested in learning more about disruptive technologies can watch the webcast here on demand.

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For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent presentations, publications and honors include the following:

Erik T. Thostenson, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering delivered an invited presentation at the Gordon Research Conference onMultifunctional Materials and Structures. Gordon Research Conferences are a group of international conferences that cover frontier research in the sciences and their related technologies. The thematic topic of the 2022 conference was "Imparting Intelligence in and Through Self-Learning Materials and Structures."His presentation, "Scalable Manufacturing of Multifunctionalin situSensors," highlighted the recent research of his group on the processing of novel carbon nanotube-based sensors and their applications ranging from structural health monitoring of critical infrastructure to wearable garments for physical rehabilitation. Thostenson, who is a joint faculty member of UD'sCenter for Composite Materials, leads the Multifunctional Composites Laboratory. He has made pioneering research contributions in the processing, characterization and modeling of carbon nanotube-based composite materials. His scholarly research has been cited nearly23,000 timesin the scientific literature.

On Oct. 6, 2022, Sarah Trembanis, Associate in Arts Program professor of history, along with AAP graduate and current UD junior Haley Ryanpresented a talk at the Bethany Beach Fire Hall, entitled "Cat Hill Cemetery: An Investigation in Historic Sussex County." Their talk was based on research undertaken through a 2022 Community Engagement Initiative summer fellows grant and in partnership with the South Bethany Historical Society. Ryan ismajoring in history and minoring in both women and gender studies and domestic violence prevention and services.The project was the subject of a recent article in the Coastal Point newspaper.

Monet Lewis-Timmons, a doctoral candidate in the Department of English, successfully nominated the noted Delaware writer, teacher, suffragist, civil rights and peace activist Alice Dunbar-Nelson, for inclusion in the Delaware Women's Hall of Fame. At the induction event on Oct. 12, 2022, Lewis-Timmons provided the audience with a sketch of Dunbar-Nelson's life and accomplishments. Alice Dunbar-Nelson's papers are housed in the UD Library's Special Collections Department.

Jennifer Horney, professor and director of the Epidemiology Program within the College of Health Sciences, has published The COVID-19 Response: The Vital Role of the Public Health Professional. Published by Elsevier and geared toward graduate students in public health and those working in public health-adjacent fields, the book, available on Amazon, emphasizes the critical roles that the public health workforce played on the frontlines of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to bring visibility to the field. Public health is at a real pivot point, and we need to raise awareness of the breadth and depth of the roles of public health agencies and the workforce, Horney said. During the pandemic, a lot of people got wrapped up in the complexity or inconsistency of messaging from the CDC, but they didnt realize their friends and neighbors working in public health were responsible for standing up COVID test sites and vaccination campaigns in NASCAR stadiums or analyzing millions of COVID test results. The COVID-19 Response also delves into the disinvestment in public health following the 2008 financial crisis and pushes for a path forward that will be essential to meeting the future challenges and threats public health will undoubtedly face. Horney, who serves as core faculty for UDs Disaster Research Center, is also the editor for COVID-19, Frontline Responders and Mental Health: A Playbook for Delivering Resilient Public Health Systems Post-Pandemic, which covers the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 response. The book will be published by Emerald on Jan. 23, 2023.

Juliet Dee, associate professor of communication, is the coauthor of the chapter Religious Freedom versus Public Health: Discordant Legal Narratives in the Pandemic, 41-65, in Discordant Pandemic Narratives in the United States, edited by Shing-Ling S. Chen and Nicole Allaire and published by Lexington Books. She is also the author of an article on Fighting Back: Is Defamation Law a Double-Edged Sword for #MeToo Victims? in First Amendment Studies 55:2, 148-174 (2021).

Sarah Pragg, assistant policy scientist in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration's Institute of Public Administration, was presented with the 202223 University of Delaware Rising Star Award by the Delaware ACE Womens Network (DAWN). The Rising Star award is granted annually to one nominee from each institute of higher education in Delawarewho demonstrates the promise of future leadership.DAWN is the Delaware chapter of the AmericanCouncil on Education (ACE).The organization is committed to the advancement of women in higher education through developing, mentoring and promoting women leaders. Pragg acts as a principal investigator leading research projects that benefit Delaware's state and local governments; she supervises and mentors students providing them with real-world experiences; and she is a highly sought-after presenter and trainer.On Oct. 13, 2022, she was honored at the DAWN virtual celebration in celebration of her accomplishments.

Cameron Ibrahim, a doctoral student in theDepartment of Computer & Information Scienceswho is supervised by Ilya Safro, associate professor, received the Best Student Paper Award at the2022 IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing conference. Ibrahims paper "Constructing Optimal Contraction Trees for Tensor Network Quantum Circuit Simulation" was presented at the Quantum and Non-Deterministic Computing Session on Sept. 19, 2022. This conference, organized in cooperation with the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), is the largest of its kind in New England and features cutting edge work on AI, machine learning, graph analytics and quantum computing. Ibrahim's research is focused on algorithm design for speeding up quantum computing simulations and was funded by an Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award from the National Science Foundation, an area of research related to efforts taking place in UD's Quantum Science and Engineering graduate program. The complete list of coauthors includes UDs Ibrahim and Safro, Danylo Lykov and Yuri Alexeev from Argonne National Laboratory and Zichang He from UC Santa Barbara.

To submit information for inclusion in For the Record, write to ocm@udel.edu and include For the Record in the subject line.

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For the Record, Oct. 14, 2022 | UDaily - UDaily

Unhackable communications devices, high-precision GPS and high-resolution medical imaging all have something in common. These technologies some under development and some already on the market all rely on the non-intuitive quantum phenomenon of entanglement.

Two quantum particles, like pairs of atoms or photons, can become entangled. That means a property of one particle is linked to a property of the other, and a change to one particle instantly affects the other particle, regardless of how far apart they are. This correlation is a key resource in quantum information technologies.

For the most part, quantum entanglement is still a subject of physics research, but its also a component of commercially available technologies, and it plays a starring role in the emerging quantum information processing industry.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics recognized the profound legacy of Alain Aspect of France, John F. Clauser of the U.S. and Austrian Anton Zeilingers experimental work with quantum entanglement, which has personally touched me since the start of my graduate school career as a physicist. Anton Zeilinger was a mentor of my Ph.D. mentor, Paul Kwiat, which heavily influenced my dissertation on experimentally understanding decoherence in photonic entanglement.

Decoherence occurs when the environment interacts with a quantum object in this case a photon to knock it out of the quantum state of superposition. In superposition, a quantum object is isolated from the environment and exists in a strange blend of two opposite states at the same time, like a coin toss landing as both heads and tails. Superposition is necessary for two or more quantum objects to become entangled.

Quantum entanglement is a critical element of quantum information processing, and photonic entanglement of the type pioneered by the Nobel laureates is crucial for transmitting quantum information. Quantum entanglement can be used to build large-scale quantum communications networks.

On a path toward long-distance quantum networks, Jian-Wei Pan, one of Zeilingers former students, and colleagues demonstrated entanglement distribution to two locations separated by 764 miles (1,203 km) on Earth via satellite transmission. However, direct transmission rates of quantum information are limited due to loss, meaning too many photons get absorbed by matter in transit so not enough reach the destination.

Entanglement is critical for solving this roadblock, through the nascent technology of quantum repeaters. An important milestone for early quantum repeaters, called entanglement swapping, was demonstrated by Zeilinger and colleagues in 1998. Entanglement swapping links one each of two pairs of entangled photons, thereby entangling the two initially independent photons, which can be far apart from each other.

Perhaps the most well known quantum communications application is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which allows someone to securely distribute encryption keys. If those keys are stored properly, they will be secure, even from future powerful, code-breaking quantum computers.

While the first proposal for QKD did not explicitly require entanglement, an entanglement-based version was subsequently proposed. Shortly after this proposal came the first demonstration of the technique, through the air over a short distance on a table-top. The first demonstrations of entangement-based QKD were published by research groups led by Zeilinger, Kwiat and Nicolas Gisin were published in the same issue of Physical Review Letters in May 2000.

These entanglement-based distributed keys can be used to dramatically improve the security of communications. A first important demonstration along these lines was from the Zeilinger group, which conducted a bank wire transfer in Vienna, Austria, in 2004. In this case, the two halves of the QKD system were located at the headquarters of a large bank and the Vienna City Hall. The optical fibers that carried the photons were installed in the Vienna sewer system and spanned nine-tenths of a mile (1.45 km).

Today, there are a handful of companies that have commercialized quantum key distribution technology, including my groups collaborator Qubitekk, which focuses on an entanglement-based approach to QKD. With a more recent commercial Qubitekk system, my colleagues and I demonstrated secure smart grid communications in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Quantum communications, computing and sensing technologies are of great interest to the military and intelligence communities. Quantum entanglement also promises to boost medical imaging through optical sensing and high-resolution radio frequency detection, which could also improve GPS positioning. Theres even a company gearing up to offer entanglement-as-a-service by providing customers with network access to entangled qubits for secure communications.

There are many other quantum applications that have been proposed and have yet to be invented that will be enabled by future entangled quantum networks. Quantum computers will perhaps have the most direct impact on society by enabling direct simulation of problems that do not scale well on conventional digital computers. In general, quantum computers produce complex entangled networks when they are operating. These computers could have huge impacts on society, ranging from reducing energy consumption to developing personally tailored medicine.

Finally, entangled quantum sensor networks promise the capability to measure theorized phenomena, such as dark matter, that cannot be seen with todays conventional technology. The strangeness of quantum mechanics, elucidated through decades of fundamental experimental and theoretical work, has given rise to a new burgeoning global quantum industry.

Nicholas Peters, Joint Faculty, University of Tennessee

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Nobel-winning Quantum Weirdness Undergirds an Emerging High-tech Industry, Promising Better Ways of Encrypting Communications and Imaging Your Body -...

Another record has been broken on the way to fully operational and capable quantum computers: the complete control of a 6-qubit quantum processor in silicon.

Researchers are calling it "a major stepping stone" for the technology.

Qubits (or quantum bits) are the quantum equivalents of classical computing bits, only they can potentially process much more information. Thanks to quantum physics, they can be in two states at once, rather than just a single 1 or 0.

The difficulty is in getting a lot of qubits to behave as we need them to, which is why this jump to six is important. Being able to operate them in silicon the same material used in today's electronic devices makes the technology potentially more viable.

"The quantum computing challenge today consists of two parts," says quantum computing researcher Stephan Philips from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. "Developing qubits that are of good enough quality, and developing an architecture that allows one to build large systems of qubits."

"Our work fits into both categories. And since the overall goal of building a quantum computer is an enormous effort, I think it is fair to say we have made a contribution in the right direction."

The qubits are made from individual electrons fixed in a row, 90 nanometers apart (a human hair is around 75,000 nanometers in diameter). This line of 'quantum dots' is placed in silicon, using a structure similar to the transistors used in standard processors.

By making careful improvements to the way the electrons were prepared, managed, and monitored, the team was able to successfully control their spin the quantum mechanical property that enables the qubit state.

The researchers were also able to create logic gates and entangle systems of two or three electrons, on demand, with low error rates.

Researchers used microwave radiation, magnetic fields, and electric potentials to control and read electron spin, operating them as qubits, and getting them to interact with each other as required.

"In this research, we push the envelope of the number of qubits in silicon, and achieve high initialization fidelities, high readout fidelities, high single-qubit gate fidelities, and high two-qubit state fidelities," says electrical engineer Lieven Vandersypen, also from the Delft University of Technology.

"What really stands out though is that we demonstrate all these characteristics together in one single experiment on a record number of qubits."

Up until this point, only 3-qubit processors have been successfully built in silicon and controlled up to the necessary level of quality so we're talking about a major step forward in terms of what's possible in this type of qubit.

There are different ways of building qubits including on superconductors, where many more qubits have been operated together and scientists are still figuring out the method that might be the best way forward.

The advantage of silicon is that the manufacturing and supply chains are all already in place, meaning the transition from a scientific laboratory to an actual machine should be more straightforward. Work continues to keep pushing the qubit record even higher.

"With careful engineering, it is possible to increase the silicon spin qubit count while keeping the same precision as for single qubits," says electrical engineer Mateusz Madzik from the Delft University of Technology.

"The key building block developed in this research could be used to add even more qubits in the next iterations of study."

The research has been published in Nature.

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There's a New Quantum Computing Record: Control of a 6-Qubit Processor in Silicon - ScienceAlert

Cleveland Clinic has been selected as a founding partner and the leading healthcare system in a new initiative meant to spur collaboration and innovation in the quantum computing industry.

Based in Greater Washington D.C., Connected DMV and a cross-sector coalition of partners are developing the new Life Sciences and Healthcare Quantum Innovation Hub to prepare the industry for the burgeoning quantum era and align with key national and global efforts in life sciences and quantum technologies.

The U.S. Department of Commerces Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded more than $600,000 to Connected DMV for development of the Hub. This will include the formation of a collaboration of at least 25 organizations specializing in quantum end-use and technology build.

Cleveland Clinic was invited to join the Hub because of its work in advancing medical research through quantum computing. As the lead healthcare system in the coalition, Cleveland Clinic will help define quantums role in the future of healthcare and disseminate education to other health systems on its possibilities.

We believe quantum computing holds great promise for accelerating the pace of scientific discovery, said Lara Jehi, M.D., M.H.C.D.S., Cleveland Clinics Chief Research Information Officer. As an academic medical center, research, innovation and education are an integral part of Cleveland Clinics mission. Quantum, AI and other emerging technologies have the potential to revolutionize medicine, and we look forward to working with partners across healthcare and life sciences to solve complex medical problems and change the course of diseases like cancer, heart conditions and neurodegenerative disorders.

Last year, Cleveland Clinic announced a 10-year partnership with IBM to establish the Discovery Accelerator, a joint center focused on easing traditional bottlenecks in medical research through innovative technologies such as quantum computing, hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence. The partnership leverages Cleveland Clinics medical expertise with the technology expertise of IBM including its leadership in quantum technology which recently resulted in the Breakthrough Award in Fundamental Physics for quantum information science. The Discovery Accelerator will allow Cleveland Clinic to contribute to Connected DMVs Hub by advancing the pace of discovery with the first private sector on-premises Quantum System One being installed on Cleveland Clinics main campus.

Innovation is always iterative, and requires sustained collaboration between research, development and technology, and the industries that will benefit from the value generated, said George Thomas, Chief Innovation Officer of Connected DMV and lead of its Potomac Quantum Innovation Center initiative. Quantum has the potential to have a substantive impact on our society in the near future, and the Life Sciences and Healthcare Quantum Innovation Hub will serve as the foundation for sustained focus and investment to accelerate and scale our path into the era of quantum.

The Hub will be part of Connected DMVs Potomac Quantum Innovation Center initiative, which aims to: accelerate quantum investment, and research and development; develop an equitable and scalable talent pipeline; and scale collaboration between the public sector, academia, industry, community, and investors to accelerate the value of quantum. The Quantum Innovation Hubs are a part of this initiative to focus on accelerating quantum investment, research and development in key industry sectors.

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Cleveland Clinic Selected as Founding Partner in Greater Washington, D.C., Quantum Computing Hub - Cleveland Clinic Newsroom

The idea of using the laws of quantum mechanics for computation was proposed in 1982 by Richard Feynman. But Deutschwho is at the University of Oxford, UKis often credited with establishing the conceptual foundations of the discipline. Computer bits that obey quantum principles, such as superposition and entanglement, can carry out some calculations much faster and more efficiently than ones that obey classical rules. In 1985 Deutsch postulated that a device made from such quantum bits (qubits) could be made universal, meaning it could simulate any quantum system. Deutsch framed his proposal in the context of the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics (of which he is an advocate), likening the process of one quantum computation to that of many parallel computations occurring simultaneously in entangled worlds.

To motivate further work in quantum computing, researchers at the time needed problems that a quantum computer could uniquely solve. I remember conversations in the early 1990s in which people would argue about whether quantum computers would ever be able to do anything really useful, says quantum physicist William Wootters of Williams College, Massachusetts, who has worked with Bennett and Brassard on quantum cryptography problems. Then suddenly Peter Shor devised a quantum algorithm that could indeed do something eminently useful.

In 1995 Shor, who is now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, developed an algorithm that could factorize large integersdecompose them into products of primesmuch more efficiently than any known classical algorithm. In classical computation, the time that it takes to factorize a large number increases exponentially as the number gets larger, which is why factorizing large numbers provides the basis for todays methods for online data encryption. Shors algorithm showed that for a quantum computer, the time needed increases less rapidly, making factorizing large numbers potentially more feasible. This theoretical demonstration immediately injected energy into the field, Wootters says. Shor has also made important contributions to the theory of quantum error correction, which is more challenging in quantum than in classical computation (see Focus: LandmarksCorrecting Quantum Computer Errors).

Without Deutsch and Shor we would not have the field of quantum computation as we know it today, says quantum theorist Artur Ekert of the University of Oxford, who considers Deutsch his mentor. David defined the field, and Peter took it to an entirely different level by discovering the real power of quantum computation and by showing that it actually can be done.

Data encryption is the topic cited for the award of Bennett (IBMs Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York) and Brassard (University of Montreal, Canada). In 1984 the pair described a protocol in which information could be encoded in qubits and sent between two parties in such a way that the information could not be read by an eavesdropper without that intervention being detected. Like quantum computing, this quantum cryptographic scheme relies on entangling qubits, meaning that their properties are interdependent, no matter how far apart they are separated. This BB84 protocol and similar quantum encryption schemes have now been used for secure transmission of data along optical networks and even via satellite over thousands of kilometers (see Focus: Intercontinental, Quantum-Encrypted Messaging and Video).

In 1993 Bennett and Brassard also showed how entanglement may be harnessed for quantum teleportation, whereby the state of one qubit is broadcast to another distant one while the original state is destroyed (see Focus: LandmarksTeleportation is not Science Fiction). This process too has applications in quantum information processing.

I am really gratified by this award because it recognizes the field of quantum information and computation, Shor says. Deutsch echoes the sentiment: Im glad that [quantum information] is now officially regarded as fundamental physics rather than as philosophy, mathematics, computer science, or engineering.

Deutsch, Shor, Bennett, and Brassard deserve recognition for their work, and Im delighted that theyre getting it, Wootters says. He notes that their research not only inspired the development of quantum technologies, but also influenced new research in quantum foundations. Quantum information theory views quantum theory through a novel lens and opens up a new perspective from which to address foundational questions.

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Physics - Breakthrough Prize for the Physics of Quantum Informationand of Cells - Physics

In July 2022, the Israel Innovation Authority announced a budget of NIS 100 million ($29 million) to build a quantum computing research center headed by Israeli startup Quantum Machines, which will also help create a quantum computer.

Israels new quantum computing center is part of the NIS 1.25 billion ($390 million) Israel National Quantum Initiative, launched in 2018 to facilitate relevant quantum research, develop human capital in the field, encourage industrial projects, and invite international cooperation on R&D.

Israel has about two dozen startups and companies currently focused on quantum technologies, including Quantum Machines, whichraised $50 millionlast September. The company was founded in 2018, and went on to develop a standard universal language for quantum computers, as well as a unique platform that helps them run.

According to the Times of Israel, Defense Ministrys Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) will issue a separate tender to finance the development of quantum technologies for military use for another NIS 100 million, the innovation authority said. According to their joint announcement Tuesday, the budget will fund two parallel avenues. The Israel Innovation Authority will focus on developing the infrastructure for quantum computational ability, which, it said, may include the use of technology from abroad. Meanwhile, the Defense Ministrys Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) will establish a national center with quantum capabilities that will work with academia, industry, and government partners to develop a quantum processor and a complete quantum computer.

Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Intel are allracingto make quantum computing more accessible and build their systems. Countries such as China, the US, Germany, India, and Japanare pouring millionsinto developing their quantum abilities.

According to recent marketprojections, the global quantum computing market size was expected to have been worth $487.4 million in 2021, and reach $3.7 billion by 2030. Israels $29 million is minuscule compared to the governments above, and the tech elephants.

These government-funded initiatives to achieve dominance in critical technology remind me of Japans Fifth Generation, which never really reached its goals.

Itamar Sivan, co-founder and CEO of Quantum Machines, said in a company statement that the project's goal was to give Israeli companies access to the most advanced quantum technologies and services so that they can develop deep quantum expertise across industry and academia. This expertise will allow Israeli companies across various sectors and industries to gain a leading global position.

Quantum Machines, founded in 2018, has built a hardware and software solution Quantum Orchestration Platform (QOP) for operating quantum systems to facilitate research and enable future breakthroughs. The startup also developed the QUA, a standard universal language for quantum computers that will allow researchers and scientists to write programs for varied quantum computers with one unified code. Quantum Machines, together with a consortium of Israeli and international quantum tech companies at the center, will build a quantum computer to be made available to the commercial and research communities.

Israels $29 million is minuscule compared to the governments above and tech elephants. According torecent market projections, the global quantum computing market is expected to grow from about $470 million in 2021 to about $1.765 billion by 2026.

Quantum Machines is an exciting company. They possess no quantum computer of their own, and their products are somewhat unique. While most quantum computers are in labs as objects of experiments by scientists, Sivan explained something I didnt realize to me. According to Sivan, a quantum computer needs three elements: a quantum computer and an orchestration platform of (conventional) hardware and software. There is no software in a quantum computer. The platform manages the progress of its algorithm mainly through laser beam pulses. The logic needed to operate the quantum computer resides with and is controlled by the orchestration platform.

The crucial difference between Google's and Quantum Machines' strategy is that Google views the current NISQ state of affairs as a testbed for finding algorithms and applications for future development. At the same time, Sivan and his company produced an orchestration platform to put the current technology into play. Their platform is quantum computer agnostic it can operate with any of them. Sivan feels that focusing solely on the number of qubits is just part of the equation.

The center will offer access to research and development on three quantum processing technologies superconducting qubits, cold ions, and optic compute and provide services to the Israeli quantum computing community, the Israel Innovation Authority said Sunday. As per the Times of Israel:

Ami Appelbaum, chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority, said the new center was 'the answer to an existing strategic market failure and is part of the authoritys policy of enabling the industry to maintain its leading position at the forefront of breakthrough and disruptive technologies.'

'Quantum computing is a technology Israeli industry cannot ignore,' said Israel Innovation Authority CEO Dror Bin in a statement Tuesday. 'The industry must develop knowledge and access to infrastructure in which it can develop growth engines for activities it will decide to lead.'

I've always believed that action speaks louder than words. While Google is taking the long view, Quantum Machines provides the platform to see how far we can go with current technology. As I wrote in The unpredictable rise of quantum computing - have recent breakthroughs accelerated the timeline?

Google suggests the real unsolved problems in fields like optimization, materials science, chemistry, drug discovery, finance, and electronics will take machines with thousands of qubits and even envision one million on a planar array etched in aluminum. Major problems need solving, such as noise elimination, coherence, and lifetime (a qubit holds its position in a tiny time slice).

Googles tactics are familiar. Every time you use TensorFlow, it gets better. Every time you play with their autonomous car, it gets better. Their collaboration with a dozen technically advanced companies improves their quantum technology.

Read more:
The Israel Innovation Authority is building a new quantum computing research center - what will the impact be? - Diginomica

We are pleased to announce that registration will open this week for the International Conference on Quantum Technology for High-Energy Physics, which will be hosted at CERN on 14 November 2022. The event will take place in the CERN Main Auditorium, with featured sessions being broadcast live.

The conference will serve as a forum to discuss both the potential of and the challenges surrounding the nascent quantum technology and what overall impact this new frontier of science might have on high-energy physics (HEP). Bringing the whole community together, we will discuss recent developments in the field and keep looking for those activities within HEP and beyond that can most benefit from the application of quantum technologies.

Spread across four days, the event will cover a number of topics ranging from four quantum technology areas (theory, sensing, computing and communication) to collaboration with academia and industry, entrepreneurship, training and education activities. There will also be a series of tutorials and hands-on sessions co-developed with companies and providers, to explore the fascinating field of quantum science to its fullest extent.

Following a successful workshop on quantum computing in 2018 that marked the beginning of a range of new investigations into quantum computing at CERN, this is the first edition of the QT4HEP conference and a great opportunity to share knowledge and ideas, advance quantum expertise and skills and foster common activities with academia and industry on national and international levels.

Join us as we unlock the full potential of innovative quantum technology and its great promise to support scientific research: https://indico.cern.ch/e/QT4HEP22.

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About CERN QTI

The CERN Quantum Technology Initiative (CERN QTI) is a comprehensive R&D and knowledge-sharing initiative to investigate applications of quantum technologies for high-energy physics and beyond. Given CERNs increasing information and communications technology and computing demands, as well as the significant national and international interest in quantum-technology activities, CERN QTI aims to provide dedicated mechanisms for the exchange of both knowledge and innovation.

Find out more at quantum.cern and on Twitter and LinkedIn.Link to the roadmap: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5553774.

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CERN to host International Conference on Quantum Technology for High-Energy Physics (QT4HEP22) - CERN