C2QA, a Year in Review

Newswise — The Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C²QA), led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, spans over 27 different partner and affiliate institutions ranging from research and academia to industry. C²QA’s primary focus is building the tools necessary to create scalable, distributed, and fault-tolerant quantum computer systems, and the center has been growing, building, and working hard every year to support that mission. 2023 has gone by quickly, with several memorable milestones to mark the way. Here are some highlights from the last year.

Science and Technology

Qubits, basic quantum systems that store information, are fussy things. The smallest fluctuations in their environment can cause them to break down. Heat, ambient radiation, magnetic fields, and even other surrounding qubits can cause the information stored in a qubit to leak into the environment and change its state, making it no longer viable. This is known as “decoherence,” and it’s one of the biggest challenges in making the quantum revolution a reality.

The materials thrust has made significant progress in extending the lifetime of these finicky bits. Scientists from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) and the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven Lab and C²QA partner Princeton University investigated the fundamental reasons that tantalum qubits perform better by decoding this material’s chemical profile. The results of this work, which were recently published in the journal Advanced Science, will provide key knowledge for designing even better qubits in the future. CFN and NSLS-II are DOE Office of Science User Facilities at Brookhaven Lab.

The Devoret Research Group at Yale University was also hard at work extending the lifetime and performance of qubits. Led by Michel Devoret, devices subthrust leader at C²QA, the team was able to double the life of a tantalum-based qubit through a process called error correction. Error correction is a special type of coding that will, theoretically, protect the information in a qubit. Researchers employed several methods that have built upon years of research to get to this groundbreaking result, which was published in Nature earlier this year.

This year, Nathan Wiebe, leader of the Center’s software thrust, and his team worked on a quantum algorithm that simulated classical harmonic oscillators with significant advantage. While other simulations have achieved similar results, they have mostly investigated representations of systems that are already quantum mechanical in nature. This research demonstrated that, in the right conditions, a quantum computer could solve a classical problem in significantly less time.

Community Outreach

The quantum information science (QIS) community is growing as research accelerates, and C²QA is leaving no stone unturned to recruit outstanding talent and ensure that opportunities within the field are accessible to all communities and institutions. Some of this starts with reaching out to students as early as high school, introducing them to this budding field, and giving them a chance to connect with experts and learn more about it.

This past summer, C²QA hosted QIS 101, a virtual quantum computing summer school. In its third year, QIS 101 built off its successes and learned from its challenges to optimize the course even more. The in-depth coursework, including 50 hands-on projects, was spread out over a six-week period this year. In its short three years, 12 alumni of the class obtained follow-on undergraduate or graduate internships at Brookhaven Lab, other DOE labs, or STEM-focused businesses; seven students were accepted into a master’s program in STEM fields; and two were accepted into Ph.D. programs in STEM fields. These accomplishments are a bright reflection of the talented pool of applicants that are accepted into QIS 101 and what they will bring to this growing field.

The C²QA-led Quantum Information Science Virtual Career Fair continues to grow in both attendees and offerings. This year, the number of exhibitors more than doubled, reaching 42 booths that represented research, academia, and industry. The event drew in over 1,300 registrants, 39% more than the previous year, and 780 attendees—an encouraging 59% more than the previous year. About three-quarters of the attendees were students (23% undergrads and 44% graduate students) and postdocs (13%). There were 2,100 clicks on the job website, where jobseekers could apply instantly, and over 10,000 booths visited!

The virtual Quantum Thursdays lecture series is still going strong. C²QA hosted 13 Quantum Thursdays on a variety of topics this year. While undergraduate students are the target audience for these beginner sessions, approximately 40% of attendees identified as undergraduate or graduate students. The series was expanded to include speakers and involvement from all five of the DOE Office of Science National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, setting the stage for a bigger picture of the quantum landscape in the coming year. Previous lectures can be viewed in C²QA’s video archive.

Another important facet of growing the center is to ensure there is a place for everyone in quantum. The diverse talent brought in through programs that highlight otherwise underrepresented people and institutions benefits the entire QIS landscape.2023 saw the launch of the Faculty Outreach for Quantum-Interested UniversitieS (FOQUS) program. This collective program leveraged the resources and expertise of Brookhaven Lab, including the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office of Educational Programs, C²QA, the DOE Office of Science's Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, and the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center. This ambitious program encouraged university faculty to combine and expand their networks and leverage programs offered by DOE to engage students and teachers. By breaking down barriers and fostering networking, faculty can prepare and develop underrepresented students from all STEM disciplines to enter the world of QIS.

Looking to the Future 

"In 2023, we’ve seen so many promising developments across each thrust in the Center,” remarked C²QA director Andrew Houck. “We’re not just uncovering answers, we’re finding new questions to ask in the year ahead. I think we are at this cusp, and we are about to see—in the next five or 10 years—these machines start to do things that are useful and better than any other technology.”

Teaming up with other NQISRCs in the future can help remove some of the limitations on rapidly growing programs. QIS 101, for example, received 424 applications when the program can only support up to 40 students due to budget limitations. Joining forces with the other centers could allow a larger number of participants to take advantage of these opportunities in the future.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.

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