Polytechnique Montréal wins $4M in government funding for quantum projects

Three quantum-related projects led by teams from Polytechnique Montréal have received combined funding of approximately $6 million through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alliance program. Alejandro Adem, President of NSERC, made the official announcement today in Varennes. He was accompanied by Sherry Romanado, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

A consortium to develop new quantum materials

The QuantaMole initiative is the largest of the three funded by NSERC because of the size of the grant it has been awarded: $5 million over five years.

Led by Stéphane Kéna-Cohen, full professor in the Department of Engineering Physics, QuantaMole brings together scientists with complementary expertise from universities across Canada. The mission of the participating researchers in engineering, chemistry and physics is to develop new materials based on organic molecules to manipulate light, paving the way for new quantum technologies.

In particular, the group seeks to develop quantum light sources based on organic molecules, advanced magnetic sensors and fast, compact electro-optical switches. The group’s work will be carried out in close collaboration with partners involved in quantum detection, quantum communication and quantum computing.

Better allocating wireless network resources

For its part, with a grant from NSERC’s Alliance program amounting to more than $949,500 over three years, the team led by Soumaya Cherkaoui, a full professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering, will use quantum computing to improve the allocation of resources on wireless networks.

Wireless networks need to integrate higher-frequency bands while using spectrum and energy optimally despite increased user density and the need for minimal latency. By harnessing the optimization algorithms of quantum computing, the Polytechnique Montréal team will develop a framework for allocating resources more efficiently and rapidly than conventional techniques.

The group’s results could also prove highly valuable for the near-term practical application of quantum computing in many fields, extending its impact far beyond wireless networks.

Algorithms to identify quantum limits

The team led by Nicolás Quesada, assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Physics, has been awarded an NSERC Alliance International Catalyst Quantum grant of $20,500 for one year.

With this support, the group will test the hypothesis that devices called Gaussian boson samplers, or quantum samplers, are capable of solving certain tasks more quickly than conventional supercomputers.

These machines work by manipulating light in a complex interference network and by measuring how the photons are distributed at the output. However, the group will be relying on simulation to carry out its tests, developing classical algorithms capable of mimicking these quantum samplers.

Using mathematical tools such as Fourier analysis, the team aims to exploit the inevitable imperfections of quantum devices to simulate their results with conventional methods. This work will not only help to validate current experiments, but to establish new references for future claims of quantum advantage, by strengthening understanding of the boundaries between the classical and the quantum.

This article was first published on 21 January by Polytechnique Montréal.