Grant: Alliance Grants

Who would have thought that microscopic particles, called holes, could change the world? Well, a coast-to-coast research community is rallying behind a junior professor from the University of British Columbia and his senior colleague from the Université de Sherbrooke with the goal of creating a machine based on these particles that offers unprecedented capabilities for quantum simulation. Indeed, these machines could help meet current social needs such as mimicking molecules to discover new drugs or putting oneself in the shoes of a quantum material to unravel the mystery of high temperature superconductivity.The team is partnering with entities holding expertise in microelectronics and quantum computers to model, fabricate, and control its machine, which will allow it to move quickly along its technology roadmap. These scientific and technological partners are the National Research Council of Canada, CMC Microsystems, the Canadian company 1QBit Information Technologies, the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung in Germany, and the multinationals Keysight Technologies and Oxford Instruments.Recognizing the importance of letting scientists do what they do best, which is science, the team is joining forces with strategic partners in research commercialization such as the BC Quantum Algorithms Institute in British Columbia and the Sherbrooke Innovation Zone in Quebec. This will allow the consortium to become a unified workforce of Canada's vibrant quantum science and technology innovation ecosystem and to ultimately create the first Canadian company in quantum simulation.