Univ of Calgary launches interdisciplinary Institute of Quantum Science & Technology

The Univ of Calgary has launched a new institute dedicated to multi-disciplinary research into quantum science, the first in Western Canada and one of only three similar institutes in Canada. The Institute for Quantum Science and Technology (IQST) was established by the faculty of science and brings together researchers from the departments of chemistry, computer science, mathematics, statistics, physics and astronomy. It builds upon research conducted at the university's Institute for Quantum Information Science (IQIS) which is being incorporated into the new entity.

IQST has four research thrusts — quantum information, quantum optics, quantum molecular modelling and quantum interface — and it is their niche strengths and collaboration that distinguish it from Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing and the Univ of Toronto's formidable research concentration in quantum science.

"There's a good chance that quantum technologies will underpin a lot of developments in the next century and enable the growth of new technologies. We have the luxury to think long-term," says Dr Barry Sanders, IQST's director and holder of the Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures (AI-TF) Chair of Quantum Information Science. "Our strengths in quantum optics and quantum molecular modelling distinguish us and make the institute unique in Canada."

Participating researchers are bringing about $2 million annually to the IQST and the venture is being supported by $150,000 annually from the AI-TF Innovates Centre of Research Excellence — support Sanders describes as embryonic.

Using the former IQIS as a base, IQST will seek a balance by building up the other three research thrusts, with plans to increase the number of principal investigators from 15 to nearly 30 within five years.

"The business plan has to go hand-in-hand with funding. There will be a lot of discussion on this in the next year. The university sees this as a priority area," says Sanders. "The Canada Foundation for Innovation is a big source of infrastructure funding and being on the university's research priority list puts us in a favoured position for provincial funding."

Solid research base

The U of C has been investing in its research base for quantum information for the past 10 years, drawing on the support of iCORE (now part of AI-TF) and attracting key talent. The concept of IQST emerged at a Red Deer workshop two years ago which drew the participation of the province, the U of C and the Univ of Alberta, which is home to the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT). Two IQST researchers have long-term research collaborations with NINT and NINT's executive director also sits on the IQST board. There have already been informal discussions on how the two institutions can pinpoint common interests and pool financial resources.

The IQST already has 100 members, comprised of professors, post doctoral fellows and graduate students, 70 of whom come from the former IQIS.

"We want to build up our research capacity and find a balance between the four research pillars," says Sanders. "The goal is to establish Quantum Alberta with distributed capabilities."

For Dr Robert Thompson, head of U of C's department of physics and astronomy, the IQST doubles the level of quantum research at U of C and is a "classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.". While the IQST is largely focused on areas of basic research, Thompson says some areas of quantum information and quantum optics are showing commercial promise. "These areas are maturing and leading to application so the timing of the institute is good," he says. "Many quantum fields are moving rapidly into a position where products will start to appear in the not-too-distant future."

Thompson says the IQST fits well with both the university and province's strategic plans, including internationalization.

That's not to say that the IQST doesn't face challenges. Sanders says he'd like to develop stronger linkages with the university's engineering activities, which are not focused on quantum research. He's also concerned that the institute is weak in know-ledge translation and commercialization.

"Researchers usually don't care about setting up a business. Discoveries often translate well and sometimes they don't," says Sanders. "The problem I'm trying to solve is how to translate discoveries into products and into industry."

R$