The hub is expected to be operational on Raleigh’s Centennial Campus by October and is part of a collaboration of Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions and national research labs working directly with IBM to advance quantum computing. NC State joins three other already established university hubs worldwide: the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom; Keio University, Japan; and the University of Melbourne, Australia.
The partnership between the NC State and IBM aims to advance quantum computing, interdisciplinary research, and student development. The hub, NC State says: “Creates a unique opportunity for the university to address its strategic plan of supporting interdisciplinary scholarship and preparing students for the future."
The hub will give industry and research collaborators early access to IBM’s commercial quantum computing systems through a port on campus. Hub members have remote IBM Cloud access to its 20-qubit processor system housed at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. IBM expects to provide members with access to a 50-qubit machine within a year.
For those who came in late, quantum computers use qubits rather than the binary code of 1s and 0s of classic computers. IBM offers access to the latest and largest quantum computing technology, as indicated by the number of functioning qubits.
NC State researchers and students will work directly with IBM scientists, engineers and consultants to pioneer quantum computing in order to solve real-world problems intractable for a classic computer. Quantum computing has the potential to solve large scale challenges such as molecular modeling, machine learning, physics, materials science, chemical simulations and data discovery.
Dennis Kekas, associate vice chancellor for partnerships and economic development at NC State, told WRAL TechWire in an interview that the collaboration with IBM builds on the university’s 30-year relationship with IBM in research, education and advanced technology development. That partnership has led to breakthroughs in cloud computing, advanced analytics, cyber security, renewable energy, advanced networking and healthcare IT.
“We know how to work together”, Kekas said.
