Co-Design Center for Quantum Advantage

The Co-Design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA) is one of the five Quantum Information Science Research Centers established by the US Department of Energy under the aegis of the National Quantum Initiative Act. C2QA is led by Brookhaven National Laboratory, and is powered by a team of leading quantum researchers from BNL and its partners. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, MIT, Yale University, Princeton University and IBM have large teams contributing to C2QA efforts along with smaller teams of scientists from Columbia University, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech, NASA Ames Research Center and University of Washington, among others.

Quantum advantage is a term that has been applied to the condition where a quantum computer outperforms a classical computer (ideally in a real world scenario, or an abstraction of a real world problem). C2QA aims to improve quantum computing performance through innovations in three thrust areas – materials for quantum computing, devices, and quantum computing software. With the advances in the three thrusts possibly being multiplicative, the possibilities enabled by the C2QA vision are tantalizing.

NY CREATES’ research in C2QA focuses on novel superconducting materials that are fabricated at 300 mm wafer scale, and investigating process technologies by which characteristics of material-interfaces can be modified to decrease the number and/or density of pathways for decoherence in the vicinity of a qubit. In addition, Satyavolu ‘Pops’ Papa Rao (NY CREATES’ VP for Research) is a member of the C2QA’s Cross-cutting Co-Design Integration Team – which is tasked with identifying opportunities for ‘co-design’ between the three primary thrusts – Materials, Devices and Software – so that synergies between them can be fruitfully exploited towards quantum advantage.

For further information, please visit the C2QA website.