The Africa Quantum Consortium Memo
A Roundup of Important News, Ideas and Updates in Quantum Technologies, April 30, 2024
Let’s dive in!
Africa's sustainable quantum leap, CQTech's coding triumph at QHack 2024, and more!
1 Big Thing: Africa's Quantum Future Shines Bright
A recent Physics World article highlights the exciting potential of quantum technologies in Africa. With a young, tech-savvy population and a growing quantum workforce, the continent is poised to become a leader in this revolutionary field. This focus on sustainability is particularly exciting, as quantum advancements can help tackle Africa's biggest challenges and build a greener future.
What:
Africa is experiencing a surge in quantum technology development, driven by a young, digitally native population and a growing quantum workforce. The continent is leveraging these resources to position itself at the forefront of the anticipated second quantum revolution.
What's New:
Recent initiatives across African nations, including quantum-ready workforce development programs like OneQuantum Africa, QWorld, and Quantum Leap Africa, highlight Africa's commitment to building a robust quantum industry. The increase in scientific publications and hosting of international conferences further demonstrates this momentum.
Why It Matters:
Quantum technology has the potential to significantly address some of Africa’s pressing challenges, such as energy access, agricultural efficiency, and economic growth. By advancing quantum computing, Africa can unlock new methodologies in various sectors, potentially leading to reduced poverty and enhanced sustainability.
Go deeper:
Collaborative efforts with global leaders in quantum technology—like IBM, Google, and CERN—have facilitated access to advanced quantum computing resources and training programs. These collaborations are crucial for nurturing local talent and fostering industry growth, enabling the development of homegrown quantum applications tailored to Africa's unique challenges.
What's Next:
Africa is poised to continue its quantum technology advancement through increased international collaboration, investment in education, and infrastructure development. The aim is to create a vibrant quantum start-up ecosystem that drives innovation and positions Africa as a leader in the global quantum field. The Africa Quantum Consortium fosters collaboration and partnerships between quantum researchers, institutions, and industry in Africa and beyond to leverage quantum technology effectively for our continent.
CQTech selected for the prestigious Canadian QV Studio program
Why it Matters: CQTech, a collaborative research group and rising star in Africa's quantum scene, has been selected for the prestigious Canadian QV Studio program. This collaboration is a win-win: CQTech gains access to expertise and resources, while the program benefits from African innovation.
Go Deeper: This collaboration taps into the immense potential of Quantum Machine Learning to streamline the often-complex process of analyzing vast datasets in mineral exploration. By leveraging quantum algorithms, CQTech and their partners aim to optimize the search for valuable natural resources.
Bonus Africa Power: The program also features another African innovator, Dr. Estelle Inack, co-founder of yiyanQ. Her participation highlights the rising tide of African talent in the quantum space.
The Bottom Line: This collaboration marks a significant step forward for both quantum technology and African leadership in the field. We wish Prof. Rouabah and Dr. Inack the best!
And More Updates from CQTech:
Prof. Taha Rouabah received a prestigious fellowship to support collaboration with Purdue University.
Prof. Taha Rouabah will be delivering a lecture on Topological Quantum Computing at Purdue University as part of the 4th Annual Quantum Summer School 2024. This prestigious event is organized by the Quantum Science Center and hosted by Purdue University.
CQTech Programmers took first place at the QHack 2024 coding challenge!
Congratulations to the CQTech Team! 🎉🎉🎉
When our local communities come together, a world of potential opens up, ready to be realized.
On that note the Unitary Fund champions open-source quantum development and supports diverse communities. They are hosting unitaryHACK, a virtual hackathon from May 29 to June 12, focused on contributing to open-source quantum projects. This is an opportunity for African talent to showcase skills, collaborate globally, and drive quantum innovation.
Wits researchers demonstrate strong link between quantum entanglement and topology using photons
What:
Researchers at Wits University have achieved a breakthrough by experimentally demonstrating that quantum entanglement and topology are fundamentally connected. This connection allows for the preservation of quantum information even when the entanglement itself is fragile.
What's New:
The novelty lies in the team’s ability to manipulate entangled photons in such a way that their topological properties are preserved as a collective, despite spatial separation. This is contrary to previous research which depicted topological features as localized and singular.
Why It Matters:
This discovery is significant because it introduces a potential new method for encoding quantum information using topological characteristics of entangled states. It provides a stable alternative to traditional protocols, which could change the game in quantum communication, especially in scenarios where entanglement is minimal and traditional methods are ineffective.
How It Works:
The experiment involved customizing the shared wave-function of two entangled photons, creating a 'Skyrmion' topology that is visible only when the photons are considered together. Topology in this experiment can be understood as a global property that remains unchanged even when the system's shape is altered, much like a mug and a doughnut are topologically equivalent due to their single, unchanging hole.
What's Next:
The research team plans to define new protocols for quantum communication utilizing these topological features. They aim to expand the understanding of nonlocal topological quantum states, which could pave the way for groundbreaking advancements in quantum information processing and high-density data storage.
More updates from across the continent…
Quantum Leap: KNUST's Intensive Workshop on Quantum Computing and Information
KNUST taking a proactive approach in educating the next generation of quantum professionals and demonstrates commitment to advancing quantum technology education in Africa.
What:
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) hosted a 5-day intensive workshop aimed at introducing students to the interdisciplinary fields of Quantum Computing and Information. The workshop successfully attracted 150 participants from an applicant pool of over 360.
What's New:
This initiative is a significant step for the Department of Physics at KNUST and quantum in Africa led by Dr. Henry Martin, Dorcas Attuabea Addo, and others, that brought together a notable lineup of experienced facilitators, speakers, and organizers, including distinguished experts in the field.
Why It Matters:
This workshop is crucial as it addresses the growing demand for education and expertise in quantum technologies—a field poised to revolutionize science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It represents a vital educational opportunity for students in Africa at the intersection of physics, mathematics, and computing.
How It Works:
The workshop included lectures, hands-on sessions, and presentations delivered by seasoned professionals. Participants gained foundational knowledge and practical experience in quantum computing, quantum simulation, and related quantum technologies.
What's Next:
Following the workshop, KNUST recently hosted World Quantum Day 2024 celebrations to expand on this initiative and generate interest as they plan to potentially offer more frequent and advanced workshops.
Across the globe…
Automated distribution of high-rate, high-fidelity polarization entangled photons using deployed metropolitan fibers
Schematic of the 34km loop within the GothamQ testbed used for the study. The inset diagrams show the experimental apparatus prior to photons entering and exiting the deployed fiber. Ref
What: Qunnect has made a significant advancement in quantum networking by achieving unprecedented distribution rates of entangled photons with high fidelity on the GothamQ Network.
Why it Matters: This breakthrough demonstrates the practicality and robustness of quantum networking components in real-world conditions, paving the way for distributed quantum computing and sensing applications.
Go Deeper: Using a 34km fiber loop within the GothamQ testbed, Qunnect's hardware successfully generated and preserved polarization-entangled photon pairs, maintaining a low quantum bit error rate and a remarkable 99.84% network uptime over 15 days.
The Bottom Line: Qunnect's achievement marks a transition from experimental quantum networking to reliable, constant operation, indicating readiness for broader application beyond secure communication. While developing quantum computing hardware may still be a distant goal for Africa, the continent boasts a solid foundation in materials science, photonics and sensing. Consequently, quantum communication and sensing technologies are poised to gain traction and grow first within the African ecosystem.
One more thing: Qunnect's server-rack-housed products are in use globally, with plans to release a full-rack quantum networking system later this year for replicating these entanglement protocols. Read more here - research paper
Quick Hits
The Australian Commonwealth and Queensland Governments will invest $940M AUD ($608M USD) into PsiQuantum through a financial package, comprised of equity, grants, and loans. PsiQuantum is on an aggressive plan to have the site operational by the end of 2027 and preprints paper on a manufacturable platform for photonic quantum computing.
China launches 504-qubit quantum chip, open to global users
The Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has delivered a 504-qubit superconducting quantum computing chip to QuantumCTek Co., Ltd., a leading quantum company based in east China's Anhui Province, setting a record for the number of qubits in a superconducting quantum chip in China.
European Commission invests €112 million in AI and quantum research and innovation and calls for proposals under Horizon Europe's 2023-2024 digital, industrial and space work programme for research and innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies.
Quantinuum becomes first company to achieve “three 9's” in a commercially-available quantum computer, with the first demonstration of 99.914(3)% 2-qubit gate fidelity, showing repeatable performance across all qubit pairs.
The new IBM Quantum System One at RPI is powered by a 127-qubit IBM Quantum 'Eagle' processor, to offer RPI's network of researchers, students and partners dedicated access to a utility-scale quantum computer.
By applying Microsoft’s breakthrough qubit-virtualization system, with error diagnostics and correction, to Quantinuum’s ion-trap hardware, they ran more than 14,000 individual experiments without a single error.
A straightforward framework that can be used to think about quantum computing from a practical perspective called “Quantum Economic Advantage” proposed to understand when quantum computing will and when it won’t outperform any comparably expensive classical computer in the near term for near-term decision-making.
Microsoft & Quantinuum Create Real Logical Qubits - The Futurum Group
Errors introduced from the operating environment or manufacturing defects in real quantum computers are the reality. To make quantum computers practical, physical qubits are combined with hardware control and software to make logical qubits.
This marks the Company’s third sale of a Novera QPU (9-qubit) after sales to leading US government labs — the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS) led by Fermilab, and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). The system is expected to be installed by early 2025.
Sent to you by the AQC Team
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