ARC grants to strengthen quantum technology R&D
QSI are the recipients of two ARC Discovery Project grants for research on understanding the limits of industry-scale quantum computers for advanced manufacturing, and building quantum-enabled software for frontier technologies such as quantum compilers and quantum cryptographic protocols.
Image: Markus Winkler / Unsplash; Wallpapertip. Original images edited.
UTS researchers at the Centre for Quantum Software and Information (QSI) have successfully secured more than $1 million of Australian Research Council (ARC) funding in round one of the 2021 Discovery Projects, announced last week.
Associate Professor Nathan Langford, Leader of the Quantum Experiments and Hardware Program at QSI welcomed the Federal Government’s continuing support for quantum technology R&D.
“This year, over $5.5 million was awarded to quantum information grants across Australia, with over $3 million to Sydney Quantum Academy academics,” he said.
“At a time when university funding across Australia has been so heavily hit by COVID-19, this is a very strong result, and an endorsement of Australia’s and Sydney's internationally-recognised strengths in these rapidly growing new quantum industries.”
The ARC Discovery Program recognizes the importance of fundamental research to benefit Australia and build Australia's research capacity.
Supporting Australia’s capacity for world-leading contributions in this type of new deep tech development is exactly what we need right now to help build a more sustainable and resilient economy that can support our society for decades to come.
A/Prof Nathan Langford
Centre for Quantum Software and Information
The two QSI-led ARC Discovery Projects announced in round 1 are outlined as follows:
Project ID: DP210101367
Funding Awarded: $659,755.00
Pushing the digital limits in quantum simulation for advanced manufacturing
Investigators: Associate Professor Nathan Langford; Dr JP Dehollain; Associate Professor Daniel Burgarth; Associate Professor Dominic Berry
This Project aims to enhance the power of high-tech quantum simulators to meet the demands of computer-modelling intensive industries such as drug and vaccine design and new energy. Aligned to Australia’s innovation agenda and Advanced Manufacturing priority, the Project expects to maximise the performance of near- and mid-term quantum simulations using innovative quantum programming techniques related to digitisation and control. Expected outcomes include: better understanding of limits in industry-scale quantum computers and improved error mitigation techniques. This should generate long-term productivity increases across a range of important sectors of the Australian economy that benefit from access to more powerful computer modelling.
Project ID: DP210102449
Funding Awarded: $405,000.00
Coupling Techniques for Reasoning about Quantum Programs
Investigators: Professor Mingsheng Ying; Dr Nengkun Yu
Quantum software is indispensable for unleashing the super-power of quantum computing. This project aims to develop, for the first time, effective techniques for reasoning about the equivalence of quantum programs, with applications for verifying quantum compilers and quantum cryptographic protocols. The successful development of the outcomes and tools proposed in this project will significantly advance the knowledge on logical and mathematical foundations of quantum programming theory and thereby help Australian industries to build frontier technologies for quantum software engineering – in particular for quantum compilers – as well as establish and preserve their competitive status in the quantum computing era.
See the full list of recipients: ARC Discovery Projects 2021 Round 1
