Tuesday, April 18, 2023
The Government of Canada recently introduced the first National Quantum Strategy. In support of this strategy, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced an investment of close to $51 million awarded to 75 recipients nationally through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Alliance grants and Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grants.
The funding will support quantum research, foster national and international collaborations, and strengthen quantum talent in Canada.
The announced projects aim to address important challenges in quantum science, while supporting the development of quantum technologies in a variety of areas, including quantum algorithms and encryption, quantum communications, quantum computing, quantum materials, and quantum sensing. They will enhance Canada’s quantum capabilities through domestic and international research collaborations.
UBC researchers are leading a total of seven projects, awarded a combined $6.1 million.
UBC-Led Projects
Alliance Consortia Quantum grants
Funded projects will help develop large-scale domestic research partnerships in quantum science and technology through the coordination of academic teams across Canada’s regional quantum research and innovation hubs, in collaboration with partner organizations from various sectors including federal laboratories, with the additional aim to connect with industrial applications and government needs.
- Dr. Joseph Salfi (Electrical and Computer Engineering / Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute)
Consortium on Quantum Simulation with Spin Qubits (CQS2Q)
$4,925,000 over 5 years
Alliance Quantum grants
Projects seeking to reinforce, coordinate and scale up Canada’s research capabilities in quantum science and technology through medium-scale domestic research partnerships between one or more academic researchers and organizations in the private, public or not-for-profit sectors.
- Dr. Olivia Di Matteo (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Quantum computing with differentiable quantum transforms
$149,000 over two years
- Dr. Marcel Franz (Physics & Astronomy / Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute)
Establishing and Exploiting Quantum Advantage in Superconducting Quantum Annealer
$911,400 over four years
Alliance International Quantum grants
Projects to help Canadian researchers establish and grow international research collaborations and projects in quantum science and technology. One-year project funding is $25,000.
- Dr. Andrea Damascelli (Physics & Astronomy / Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute)
Time-resolved study of photoinduced dynamics of the cuprate superconducting gap
- Dr. Christoph Ortner (Mathematics)
Machine Learning Surrogates for Simulating Quantum Materials
- Dr. Joseph Salfi (Electrical and Computer Engineering / Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute)
International Catalyst on Hole Spin Qubits
- Dr. Steven Wilton (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
International Catalyst on Computer-Aided Design Algorithms for Quantum Annealing