IUCRC Planning Grant Carnegie Mellon: Center for Quantum Computing and Information Technologies (Q-CIT)

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Carnegie Mellon University is proposing the formation of a Center for Quantum Computing and Information Technologies (Q-CIT). The mission of the proposed Center is to collaborate with industry and government stakeholders in identifying applications that advance quantum computing and information technologies in the solution of challenging real-world problems proven to be intractable by classical computing methods. Computing has had a profound and transformative impact on society; quantum computing and information technologies will have even greater impacts. Q-CIT will work with the stakeholders to create a research ecosystem where companies, government labs, and federally funded research and development centers with interests in quantum computing collaborate with faculty, research staff, and students on practical use-case problems to move the field. Q-CIT will convene planning meetings with interested companies, government labs, and other entities to discuss critical areas with technical problems whose solution methods and algorithms might be adapted to run on current, noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware in the absence of fault-tolerant quantum computing machines. Such problems could include, among others, computation of materials properties via Hamiltonian simulation, and solution of general optimization problems as is often done, for example, in machine learning. These types of problems fall under the rubric of variational optimization. In the long run, Q-CIT expects to work and interact with industry and government members in identifying canonical benchmark problems in selected areas that could be investigated to assess whether use of NISQ and future fault-tolerant quantum computing machines brings quantum advantage(s) over classical computing hardware. With the current multiplicity of approaches to quantum computing and information technology hardware, one of the roles of the Center will be to create an ecosystem for free exchange of information on the different approaches, while fostering interactions among diverse technical groups championing the approaches. Q-CIT potentially has a unique opportunity to develop an innovative education and training program relevant for implementation of the quantum computing paradigm. The education program will be the key for the training of a diverse, future quantum workforce.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.