Over the past half century, economic growth was heavily driven by increasing computational power, which was crucial in enabling innovation, improving efficiency, and managing complexity in most industries. To continue this growth, it is critical to explore and vet new approaches for increasing computational power. Quantum computers are a promising form of advanced computational power, providing unmatched advantages in code breaking and scientific simulation problems in fields such as molecular chemistry and materials science. Quantum computing has advanced rapidly in recent years, and the hardware development is nearing a level of sophistication where it is possible to construct a quantum computer that may outperform classical computers in solving certain problems. The Software-Tailored Architecture for Quantum co-design (STAQ) project brings together a group of physicists, computer scientists, and engineers to construct a quantum computer capable of showing an advantage over current computer technology. The project also supports the development of educational tools and a quantum information workforce.
A quantum computer can exhibit an advantage over standard computers when the quantum computer is large enough that brute force simulation strategies become infeasible and a quantum algorithm is sufficiently complex that approximate computational methods do not provide accurate results. The STAQ project aims to utilize this quantum advantage by building ion trap quantum computers with 64 or more qubits and developing quantum algorithms suitable for noisy quantum devices. This ambitious task will be enabled by a software stack that optimally maps the quantum algorithms onto the ion trap device and allows for the algorithms and hardware to be designed together. The project requires a wide range of expertise to achieve the scientific goal. The team consists of ion trap experimentalists, quantum information theorists, and computer architects. STAQ will organize a Quantum Ideas School, which will recruit a diverse group of students into quantum information and help retrain current industrial scientists for this emerging field. This project advances the objectives of two of 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments: "The Quantum Leap: Leading the Next Quantum Revolution" and "Growing Convergent Research at NSF". The 10 big ideas will push forward the frontiers of U.S. research, provide innovative approaches to solve some of the most pressing problems the world faces, as well as lead to discoveries not yet known. This project also advances the third objective of the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI), an effort aimed at developing new technological capabilities in the post-Moore's Law era.
This project is supported by the Division of Physics in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the Division of Computing and Communication Foundations in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, and the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems in the Directorate for Engineering.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
