��ݮ��Ƶ News - Quantum-Nano Revolution

University of ��ݮ��Ƶ receives Quantum Horizon funding award

Ryon Jones — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 19:53:58 +0000

The awarded proposal seeks to understand and mitigate the loss of quantum information

The Quantum Horizons: Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research and Innovation for Nuclear Science award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Physics has enabled a new collaboration between researchers who develop technologies for nuclear physics, quantum information science and high-energy physics.

Adrian Lupascu, a member of the Institute for Quantum Computing and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, is a co-principal investigator (PI) alongside Anne-Marie Valente-Feliciano, an accelerator physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Mustafa Bal, an associate scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory-hosted Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center, is the lead PI who will coordinate the project "QIS and nuclear physics technologies for next generation materials and architectures for high coherence superconducting qubits" funded by the award.

Professor Lupascu

This awarded proposal seeks to understand and mitigate the loss of quantum information in quantum systems by a phenomenon called decoherence. The decoherence of qubits — devices that harness fragile quantum information — needs to be tackled to unlock the power of quantum computers fully.

"One of our team's main areas of interest is understanding how well quantum information is preserved in devices. For this process, the quality of materials is essential," Lupascu said. "The film expertise at Jefferson Lab and the collaboration with SQMS will provide an opportunity to explore new physics and advance quantum devices."

Building on ��ݮ��Ƶ's experience in designing and measuring different kinds of qubits and the SQMS Center's breadth of expertise and facilities, this award adds Jefferson Lab's capabilities in producing highly pure niobium films.

Cavities made of niobium can accelerate particles to near the speed of light and are the best in the world, but there is room to maintain high performance while reducing costs by depositing a thin film of niobium on a copper cavity.

"We are developing advanced techniques to produce high-quality, niobium-film-based accelerating cavities. We think these films will also improve the lifetime of quantum information in qubits," Valente-Feliciano said. "Most niobium films have impurities and are atomically disordered, which might contribute to the loss of quantum information in qubits. Our research at Jefferson Lab is producing atomically ordered, highly pure films with the best properties and performance."

Lupascu will explore new designs for quantum computing devices made with these films and study the devices' performance at ultra-cold temperatures. This effort will seek ways to produce these devices while maintaining high performance and reproducibility across a range of devices, which is important for the scalability of quantum computers.

"Our SQMS Center is uniquely positioned to make advancements in the performance of superconducting qubits. We will accelerate towards this goal by exploring new promising and unique pathways," Bal said. "Through the Quantum Horizon award, we will use the films made by Jefferson Lab to explore material purity as a potential path to improve qubit performance. The experts at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ will expand our capabilities to make other types of qubits."

The collaboration for this Quantum Horizons award brings together dozens of experts in Quantum Information Science, material science and more to tackle decoherence with the most advanced material analysis tools and qubit foundries.

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New quantum tool developed in groundbreaking experimental achievement

Ryon Jones — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 21:24:11 +0000

Scientists recreate properties of light in neutral fundamental particles called neutrons

For the first time in experimental history, researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) have created a device that generates twisted neutrons with well-defined orbital angular momentum. Previously considered an impossibility, this groundbreaking scientific accomplishment provides a brand new avenue for researchers to study the development of next-generation quantum materials with applications ranging from quantum computing to identifying and solving new problems in fundamental physics.

“Neutrons are a powerful probe for the characterization of emerging quantum materials because they have several unique features,” said Dr. Dusan Sarenac, research associate with IQC and technical lead, Transformative Quantum Technologies at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ. “They have nanometer-sized wavelengths, electrical neutrality, and a relatively large mass. These features mean neutrons can pass through materials that X-rays and light cannot.”

While methods for the experimental production and analysis of orbital angular momentum in photons and electrons are well-studied, a device design using neutrons has never been demonstrated until now. Because of their distinct characteristics, the researchers had to construct new devices and create novel methods for working with neutrons.

In their experiments, Dr. Dmitry Pushin, IQC and Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty member at ��ݮ��Ƶ, and his team constructed microscopic fork-like silicon grating structures. These devices are so minuscule that in an area of only 0.5 cm by 0.5 cm, there are over six million individual fork dislocation phase-gratings. As a beam of single neutrons passes through this device, the individual neutrons begin winding in a corkscrew pattern. After travelling 19 meters, an image of the neutrons was captured using a special neutron camera. The group observed that every neutron had expanded to a 10 cm wide donut-like signature.

The donut pattern of the propagated neutrons indicates that they have been put in a special helical state and that the group’s grating devices have generated neutron beams with quantized orbital angular momentum, the first experimental achievement of its kind.

“Neutrons have been popular in the experimental verification of fundamental physics, using the three easily accessible degrees of freedom: spin, path and energy,” Pushin said. “In these experiments, our group has enabled the use of orbital angular momentum in neutron beams, which will essentially provide an additional quantized degree of freedom. In doing so, we are developing a toolbox to characterize and examine complicated materials needed for the next generation of quantum devices such as quantum simulators and quantum computers.”

The paper Experimental realization of neutron helical waves by Sarenac, Pushin and collaborators from the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was recently published in the journal Science Advances. The research was funded through TQT, which is a Canada First Research Excellence Fund Initiative. Experimental devices were created in the Quantum Nano Fabrication and Characterization Facility at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ.

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Subatomic MRI could lead to new drug therapies

Rebecca Elming — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 19:01:11 +0000

A new imaging technique using quantum science may lead to novel drug therapies and treatment options, a recent study has found.

Researchers at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and supported by Transformative Quantum Technologies have demonstrated the feasibility of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance diffraction (NMRd) to investigate the lattice structure of crystalline solids on an atomic scale, a feat that had only been possible for larger-scale imaging applications like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

“NMRd was proposed in 1973 as a method to study the structure of materials,” said Dr. Holger Haas, one of the lead authors of the study and alumnus of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) in ��ݮ��Ƶ, now at IBM. “At the time, the authors discarded their idea as ludicrous. Our work comes tantalizingly close to realizing this crazy idea of theirs - we have shown that it is possible to study structures on an atomic length scale over sample volumes that are relevant for many biological and physical systems.

“NMRd opens up a tremendous variety of capabilities in many research directions, including studying both nanocrystals and organic compounds,” added Haas. The ability to image biological structures, like protein molecules and virus particles, on the atomic scale can advance the understanding of their function and potentially lead to new drug therapies and treatment options.

NMRd works by exploiting a property in nuclei called spin, a fundamental unit of magnetism. When placed in a magnetic field, the nuclei essentially act as magnets due to this spin. A time-varying magnetic field can perturb the spins, changing the angle of the spin – in technical terms, this is called encoding a phase in each spin. At a particular encoding time, all spins will point back to the initial direction. When this occurs, a diffraction echo is observed, a signal that can be measured to find the lattice constant and shape of the sample. Each nucleus will produce a unique signal, which can be used to discern the structure of the molecule.

The challenge in achieving atomic-scale NMR was the difficulty of encoding large relative phase differences between neighbouring nuclear spins on the atomic scale, meaning that a diffraction echo could not be observed. The researchers overcame this limitation by using quantum control techniques and generating large, time-dependent magnetic field gradients. With this, they could encode and detect the atomic scale modulation in an ensemble of two million spins and measure the displacement of the spin ensemble in a sample with subatomic precision.

This research represents substantial progress in establishing atomic-scale NMR as a tool for studying material structure.

Sahand Tabatabaei, co-lead of the study and PhD student at IQC and ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, adds, “now that we are close to being able to do NMRd on a lattice at the atomic length scale, we can also really start studying more fundamental quantum physics, like quantum transport phenomena and quantum many-body physics, at the atomic length scale, which hasn’t been done before on samples of this size.”

The study, Nuclear magnetic resonance diffraction with subangstrom precision, co-authored by Haas, Tabatabaei, Dr. William Rose, Dr. Pardis Sahafi, Dr. Michèle Piscitelli, Andrew Jordan, Pritam Priyadarsi, Namanish Singh, Dr. Ben Yager, Dr. Philip J. Poole, Dr. Dan Dalacu, and Dr. Raffi Budakian, appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This research was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

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Canadian researchers achieve first quantum simulation of baryons

Ryon Jones — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 22:32:33 +0000

Researchers take step towards more complex quantum simulations

A team of researchers led by an Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) faculty member performed the first-ever simulation of baryons—fundamental quantum particles—on a quantum computer.

With their results, the team has taken a step towards more complex quantum simulations that will allow scientists to study neutron stars, learn more about the earliest moments of the universe, and realize the revolutionary potential of quantum computers.

“This is an important step forward – it is the first simulation of baryons on a quantum computer ever,” Christine Muschik, an IQC faculty member, said. “Instead of smashing particles in an accelerator, a quantum computer may one day allow us to simulate these interactions that we use to study the origins of the universe and so much more.”

Watch video on YouTube

A visual breakdown of the results of the first quantum simulation of baryons.

Muschik, also a physics and astronomy professor at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and associate faculty member at the Perimeter Institute, leads the Quantum Interactions Group, which studies the quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories. These theories are descriptions of the physics of reality, including the Standard Model of particle physics. The more inclusive a gauge theory is of fields, forces, particles, spatial dimensions and other parameters, the more complex it is—and the more difficult it is for a classical supercomputer to model.

Non-Abelian gauge theories are particularly interesting candidates for simulations because they are responsible for the stability of matter as we know it. Classical computers can simulate the non-Abelian matter described in these theories, but there are important situations—such as matter with high densities—that are inaccessible for regular computers. And while the ability to describe and simulate non-Abelian matter is fundamental for being able to describe our universe, none has ever been simulated on a quantum computer.

Working with Randy Lewis from York University, Muschik’s team at IQC developed a resource-efficient quantum algorithm that allowed them to simulate a system within a simple non-Abelian gauge theory on IBM’s cloud quantum computer paired with a classical computer.

With this landmark step, the researchers are blazing a trail towards the quantum simulation of gauge theories far beyond the capabilities and resources of even the most powerful supercomputers in the world.

“What’s exciting about these results for us is that the theory can be made so much more complicated,” Jinglei Zhang, a postdoctoral fellow at IQC and the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, said. “We can consider simulating matter at higher densities, which is beyond the capability of classical computers.”

As scientists develop more powerful quantum computers and quantum algorithms, they will be able to simulate the physics of these more complex non-Abelian gauge theories and study fascinating phenomena beyond the reach of our best supercomputers.

This breakthrough demonstration is an important step towards a new era of understanding the universe based on quantum simulation.

The paper, SU(2) hadrons on a quantum computer via a variational approach, was published in Nature Communications today. This research was funded in part by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research as well as the Canada First Research Excellence Fund through Transformative Quantum Technologies.

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Capitalizing on carbon

Brian Caldwell — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 12:47:38 +0000

Chemical engineering professor receives a prestigious Steacie fellowship to help establish a world-leading carbon nanotechnology centre at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ

Aiping Yu is one step closer to her dream of establishing a world-leading carbon nanotechnology centre at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ after winning a prestigious award for highly promising researchers.

The chemical engineering professor is one of six nation-wide recipients of 2020 E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships announced today by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Winners receive $250,000 in research grants over two years and, via payments of up to $90,000 a year to their universities, are freed from teaching and administrative duties so they can concentrate on research full-time.

Yu, who has been at ��ݮ��Ƶ Engineering for more than a decade after working for a year in the plastics industry, is thrilled by the recognition and the opportunity to take her work in the lab to the next level.

Two years to 'take off and fly'

“As a female researcher, it is difficult to balance family life and career development,” she says. “I appreciate this award because it gives me two years of teaching relief so I can really take off and fly.”

As director of the Applied Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory, Yu’s main research focus is on carbon nanomaterials, particularly carbon nanotubes and graphene, to make longer-lasting, smaller, faster-charging batteries and supercapacitors.

Carbon nanotubes and graphene are particularly well-suited to those applications, including use in electric vehicles and consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops, because they are highly conductive and have large surface areas.

“These two materials are the driving forces pushing the entire development of nanotechnology,” Yu says. “They have amazing physical properties.”

A secondary area of research involves the use of graphene at the nanoscale level as an additive to an extremely expensive polymer coating for corrosion protection of pipelines made of carbon steel.

Making ��ݮ��Ƶ a world leader

The modified graphene additive improves corrosion protection and enables the use of thinner coats of the rubber-like substance, yielding significant savings for pipeline companies.

Yu plans to use her Steacie grant to attract high-quality graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, including ��ݮ��Ƶ grads who might otherwise go to the United States.

“Top graduate students and postdocs are extremely important to research programs, and it is my ambition to make ��ݮ��Ƶ and Canada leaders in research and development of carbon nanomaterials,” she says.

Edgar William Richard Steacie was a chemist and a researcher who made major contributions to science in Canada during and immediately after World War Two. He also led the National Research Council of Canada from 1952 to 1962.

Photo: NSERC/CRSNG - Sylvie Li

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��ݮ��Ƶ student partners with engineering alumni on at-home COVID-19 test

MSC MSC MarComm Co-op — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 14:39:55 +0000

Serapis Labs develops prototype for a testing kit that is simple enough for anyone to use

Monica Hoang had no idea earlier this year that she’d be spending the last few months of her PhD working on the design of a COVID-19 testing kit.

The School of Pharmacy student moved back to her hometown when the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ decided to go online for the spring term and planned to do her PhD defence digitally.

Then an old friend in the pharmacy program messaged her to say his colleagues were looking for somebody with a genetics background to join their team. The next day, Hoang was at a meeting in ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Velocity startup incubator in downtown Kitchener.

“It happened fast and I sure wasn’t planning to be back in Kitchener every day,” she says. “But the work is important and moving quickly. I’m happy to do what I can to contribute.”

Hoang joined forces with Kamyar Ghofrani (BASc ’17) and James MacLean (BASc ’15), both graduates of the ��ݮ��Ƶ nanotechnology engineering program, to respond to a point of care and home diagnostic kit challenge issued by the federal government.

The challenge calls for development of a testing kit to detect COVID-19 in people within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms with a high degree of accuracy. The test should be usable with no technical training, cost $40 or less and produce results in 20 minutes.

Ghofrani, who specializes in microfluidics, heard about the challenge and connected with MacLean, a friend with experience in consumer diagnostic technology. They realized that much of the technology to create such a test is already available – it just needed to be rebuilt to target COVID-19 and meet the criteria.

“We brainstormed, came up with a few different ideas - some better than others - and within a week we had a design,” Ghofrani says.

“A lot of it was due to the community effort,” MacLean says of their early progress.

“We were able to hop on the phone with professors and friends, in both the startup community and the research community, to find out what was and wasn’t possible.”

From left to right: Monica Hoang, James MacLean, Kamyar Ghofrani, Rosemary MacLean, Renessa Gomes

Hoang was recruited to help evaluate COVID-19 research on product design and overcome scientific hurdles.

“COVID-related research is being generated at an incredible rate,” Hoang says. “I reviewed many, many scientific papers in a very short period of time just to get up to speed. When we run into a challenge, I play a key role in sorting through all the research available and coming up with a solution.

“It’s an interesting time to be doing research because articles are published without peer review. Information is constantly being released and you have to decipher between what is realistic, replicable, and what is too good to be true.”

Hoang’s years of lab experience prepared her well for the task, helping ensure the team has all the information needed to move ahead with product design. The result so far is a prototype the trio calls the SeraLamp kit.

The kit contains the latest in RNA detection technology condensed into an at-home, single-use unit. Users collect a saliva sample in a tube, place it in a small machine and receive a result in 30 minutes.

Prototype testing device called the SeraLamp kit.

SeraLamp’s simplicity is part of its appeal.

Unlike testing tools that require health professionals or multiple steps and additional components like buffer solutions, pipetting or counting out drops, it can be used by anyone and the results are simply presented as either a red light for positive, or a green light for negative.

The kit also connects to an app and the results can be made available to Health Canada via the cloud.

“Current COVID testing requires trained personnel, so we’re trying to make sure that everything we’re putting into the kit is completely foolproof,” says Hoang. “It means thinking of everything that could go wrong during operation and finding a way to prevent it.”

The SeraLamp kit is still at an early stage, with the team now focused on optimizing design and getting prototypes ready for clinical validation. With Health Canada fast-tracking new RNA tests, the startup company hopes to launch a product in the fall.

Meanwhile, its founders are looking for additional investment and to grow their team in Kitchener-��ݮ��Ƶ. The team needs scientists with a background in molecular diagnostics and people familiar with high-volume manufacturing.

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University of ��ݮ��Ƶ launches program to deploy industry-driven quantum technologies

UR MSI — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT), a research initiative led by the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, today announced the launch of its Quantum Alliance (QA) program

Transformative Quantum Technologies (TQT), a research initiative led by the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, today announced the launch of its Quantum Alliance (QA) program, which brings together a collaborative community of researchers, world-class infrastructure and TQT’s unique Quantum Innovation Cycle for the advancement of impactful quantum technologies.

QA connects TQT’s world-leading quantum experts with industry and other stakeholders to leverage this quantum value chain. QA engages organizations as partners in a consortium, pooling resources and knowledge to develop applications of quantum technology.

“The Quantum Alliance is a new program to build a quantum R&D community and advance the capability and applications of quantum technologies,” said David Cory, professor at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and principal investigator at TQT. “It recognizes that quantum tech will be disruptive in many fields and brings early adopters together with quantum technology experts in a unique shared development space. We are enabling this community to explore the full quantum innovation cycle, from materials to devices to applications.”

TQT unveiled the program to more than 100 quantum researchers, business and technology leaders in attendance at its inaugural Quantum Opportunities & Showcase last week, where they heard first-hand about state-of-the-art technologies under development at TQT.

“If I had been told a year ago that I would have been using quantum technology in my research, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Ben Thompson, a professor at the University’s School of Optometry and Vision Science. “Collaborating with TQT has opened up new, unexpected and exciting areas of research in vision science. Together we are exploring the power of quantum states and structured wavefronts to better understand disorders and diseases of the human eye.”

The application and adoption of quantum technology is still in its early stages but holds tremendous potential. A first-of-its-kind collaboration between academia and industry, Quantum Alliance partners will be some of the first in the world to access the Quantum Innovation Cycle and test its potential to deliver application-focused quantum technology.

“The TQT community of world-leading quantum R&D experts provides key insights, resources and collaboration, enabling Angstrom Engineering to advance its new line of “Quantum Series” thin film deposition tools for commercial use,” said Mike Miller, Director of Business Development at Angstrom Engineering Inc. “We look forward to continuing our work with TQT as we realize the true impact of quantum.”

Advancing quantum technologies is no easy feat – it takes extensive expertise and a time and funding commitment that few programs can offer. A recipient of Canada First Research Excellence Funds, TQT is dedicating seven years and over $76 million to tackling quantum challenges that will drive break-throughs. Quantum technology is expected to be disruptive in personalized medicine, natural resource exploration, environmental monitoring, secure communications and much more.

"We were happy to announce at TQT’s annual meeting our target of developing a synthetic topological material based on superconducting circuits with the overarching goal of developing a topological quantum computer," said Alireza Najafi-Yazdi, the CEO of Anyon Systems. "It's been a pleasure for our team to work at the Quantum-Nano Fabrication and Characterization Facility and collaborate with the scientific team at TQT.”

Those interested in learning more about QA workshops, co-investment opportunities and how they can tap into TQT’s pool of world-class researchers and talent should visit: https://tqt.uwaterloo.ca/opportunities/quantum-alliance/

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Monitoring cancer at the nano-level

MSC MSC MarComm Co-op — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 12:44:21 +0000

How a new quantum sensor could improve cancer treatment

The development of medical imaging and monitoring methods has profoundly impacted the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. These non-invasive techniques allow health care practitioners to look for cancer in the body and determine if treatment is working.

But current techniques have limitations; namely, tumours need to be a specific size to be visible. Being able to detect cancer cells, even before there are enough to form a tumour, is a challenge that researchers around the world are looking to solve.

The solution may lie in nanotechnology

Researchers at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) have developed a quantum sensor that is promising to outperform existing technologies in monitoring the success of cancer treatments.

Artist's rendering of the interaction of incident single photon pulses and a tapered semiconductor nanowire array photodetector.

“A sensor needs to be very efficient at detecting light,” explains principal investigator Michael Reimer, an IQC faculty member and professor in the Faculty of Engineering. “What’s unique about our sensor is that the light can be absorbed all the way, from UV to infrared. No commercially available device exists that can do that now.”

Current sensors reflect some of the light, and depending on the material, this reflection can add up to 30 per cent of the light not being absorbed.

This next-generation quantum sensor designed in Reimer’s lab is very efficient and can detect light at the fundamental limit — a single photon — and refresh for the next one within nanoseconds. Researchers created an array of tapered nanowires that turn incoming photons into electric current that can be amplified and detected.

When applied to dose monitoring in cancer treatment, this enhanced ability to detect every photon means that a health practitioner could monitor the dose being given with incredible precision — ensuring enough is administered to kill the cancer cells, but not too much that it also kills healthy cells.

Moving quantum technology beyond the lab

Reimer published his findings in Nature Nanotechnology in March and is now working on a prototype to begin testing outside of his lab. Reimer’s goal is to commercialize the sensor in the next three to five years.

“I enjoy the fundamental research, but I’m also interested in bringing my research out of the lab and into the real world and making an impact to society,” says Reimer.

He is no stranger to bringing quantum technology to the marketplace. While completing his post doctorate at the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, Reimer was an integral part of the startup, Single Quantum, developing highly efficient single-photon detectors based on superconducting nanowires.

Reimer’s latest sensor has a wide range of applications beyond dose monitoring for cancer treatments. The technology also has the ability to significantly improve high-speed imaging from space and long-range, high-resolution 3D images.

“A broad range of industries and research fields will benefit from a quantum sensor with these capabilities,” said Reimer. “It impacts quantum communication to quantum lidar to biological applications. Anywhere you have photon-starved situations, you would want an efficient sensor.”

He is exploring all industries and opportunities to put this technology to use.

Breakthroughs come in unexpected places

After earning his undergraduate degree in physics at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, Reimer moved to Germany to play professional hockey. While taking graduate courses at the Technical University of Munich, he met a professor of nanotechnology who sparked his interest in the field.

“I played hockey and science was my hobby,” says Reimer. “Science is still my hobby, and it’s amazing that it is now my job.” Reimer went on to complete his PhD at the University of Ottawa/National Research Council of Canada, and turned his attention to quantum light sources. Reimer is an internationally renowned expert in quantum light sources and sensors. The idea for the quantum sensor came from his initial research in quantum light sources.

“To get the light out from the quantum light source, we had to come up with a way that you don’t have reflections, so we made this tapered shape. We realized that if we can get the light out that way we could also do the reverse — that’s where the idea for the sensor came from.”

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The end of real estate agents?

Sam Toman — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:08:52 +0000

New partnership between NRC and ��ݮ��Ƶ poised to advance AI, IoT, and cybersecurity — redefining the future of work

The phone rings and the realtor says your home offer was accepted. For many of us, what comes next is a flurry of papers, signatures, lawyers, bank forms and money changing hands. Everyone assures you this is all part of the ritual of buying a home. But with every signature, all but the most conscientious of us blindly pray no mistakes have been made, no unchecked boxes and no wasted money.

Thanks to a new research partnership between the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and the National Research Council (NRC) on Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Cybersecurity, the dizzying uncertainty around buying a home, or anything really, could become a thing of the past.

One of a handful of research projects involved in the ��ݮ��Ƶ/NRC partnership is, “A Secure Scalable Quantum-Safe Blockchain for Critical Infrastructure,” led by ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Srinivasan  Keshav of the Cheriton School of Computer Science, Mike Mosca of IQC and Combinatorics and Optimization. Eric Paquet from the NRC is also involved.

“Distributed ledger, or blockchain, technologies have the potential to change infrastructure critical to society, ranging from finance and real-estate to energy and transportation because they let users conduct transactions despite not necessarily trusting each other or a central party,” says Keshav. “This means, for example, a buyer and a seller in an online marketplace, such as Kijiji, can conduct a transaction securely and with confidence in the outcome without having to trust each other.”

According to Keshav, this is all made possible by placing tamperproof certificates in the blockchain that certify some event or activity. However, existing blockchains do not support very many transactions per second, which limits their use. They use cryptographic protocols that could be broken by quantum computers.

The broad goal of the research project is the implementation of a scalable blockchain, and to replace the existing cryptographic protocols with quantum-safe cryptographic protocols. The hope is this could achieve high throughput while still being quantum safe.

Real estate transactions in particular involve many different, often significant, risks. There are opportunities for scalable blockchain to speed up and verify property and title searches, financing, leasing, purchasing and selling, due diligence, managing cash flows and payment management.

The Canadian Real Estate Association counts more than 120,000 members - a figure that’s nearly doubled since 2000. As this technology evolves, the role of real estate agents and agencies will need to evolve and adapt if they hope to survive the potential disruption.

Keshav and Mosca’s work is just one of many exciting projects being funded by the NRC partnership at ��ݮ��Ƶ. Others include:

“Automated Material Synthesis using Deep Reinforcement Learning,” led by Mark Crowley of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and Isaac Tamblyn from NRC.
“Neuromorphics for Vision-based Movement Planning and Control,” led by Chris Eliasmith of Systems Design Engineering at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and Terry Stewart from NRC.
“Reliable Gesture Recognition in Virtual Reality Environment,” led by Ed Lank from the Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and Keiko Katsuragawa from NRC.
“Battery-free Touch Sensors for Internet of Things,” led by Omid Abari of the Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and Keiko Katsuragawa from NRC.

“The partnership has brought into focus the Canadian government’s keen interest in developing a quantum-safe blockchain for our shared infrastructure,” says Keshav. “Funding from the project has brought together the scalable blockchain group in Computer Science with the Open Quantum Safe group in Combinatorics and Optimization at ��ݮ��Ƶ and paid for students to work on this project. Hence, our work would neither have been conceived, nor advanced toward eventual practice, without this partnership.”

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��ݮ��Ƶ students awarded prestigious Governor General’s Gold Medal

Natalie Quinlan — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 14:52:42 +0000

Graduate students Robie Hennigar and Samuel Jaques recognized for their outstanding academic record and research

The University of ��ݮ��Ƶ is proud to announce that two of its students will receive one of Canada’s highest honours in academia — the Governor General’s Gold Medal.

For highest standing in a doctoral program, Physics PhD student Robie Hennigar is recognized for his explorations in black hole chemistry and higher curvature gravity. Master’s student Samuel Jaques is being celebrated for his accomplishments in quantum cost models for cryptanalysis of isogenies.

Robie Hennigar

Having graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (Physics) in fall 2018, Robie Hennigar’s list of accomplishments continues to grow. A researcher of gravitational physics and black hole thermodynamics, Hennigar’s findings have led the scientific community in directions unforeseen five years ago. With more than 21 published papers and over 700 citations, the impact of Robie’s research has been exceptionally strong.

Hennigar is currently a recipient of a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship for his work at Memorial University, Newfoundland.Alongside his studies, Hennigar’s mentoring and teaching skills have been referred to as “outstanding.” Having worked as a teaching assistant in 11 courses, Hennigar has provided professional direction to graduate students in the Perimeter Scholars International program, while working with visiting doctoral students from other countries. He has given 11 talks at conferences nationally and internationally, four of which were awarded prizes, and has also received the distinction of Outstanding Academic Performance in a PhD program when he was awarded the 2018 Alumni Gold Medal.

Samuel Jaques

Recognized for his research in cryptographic security in the context of quantum computers, Samuel Jaques has emerged as a leading candidate for quantum-safe cryptographic standards currently under development by the U.S. government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. Having achieved an average of 97 per cent during his Master’s program while he held an NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) scholarship, Jaques has also been awarded the President’s Graduate Scholarship and the Rai Mathematics Graduate Scholarship.

Jaques has a broad range of research experience, spanning work in quantum information theory, operator theory, cryptography, number theory quantum algorithms and quantum architectures. While at ��ݮ��Ƶ, Jaques was the acting president of Effective Altruism ��ݮ��Ƶ and co-organized an active bi-weekly graduate seminar on post-quantum cryptography. He’s also delivered talks about his work at the Université de Versailles and École Polytechnique in France.

This summer, Jaques will be doing an internship with the Security and Cryptography team at Microsoft Research before heading to Oxford University on a prestigious Clarendon scholarship to complete his PhD.

Created in 1873 by Canada’s third Governor General Lord Dufferin, the Governor General’s Gold Medal is an award given out annually to students from different institutions who achieve the highest level of academic scholarship for their cohort at their institution. The award is divided into four categories ranging from bronze at the secondary school level to gold at the graduate level.

Math

Science

Quantum-Nano Revolution

Research

Awards, Honours and Rankings