2012 annual re p ort
Going small in a big way Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen, and thinking what nobody has thought.
~ Albert Szent-Györgyi, Nobel Prize winner (Medicine, 1937)
It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. We propose a different
version: scientific truth is more amazing than science fiction.
Researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing are developing
ideas and technologies that prescient storytellers like Jules Verne and
Isaac Asimov could hardly have imagined.
Even the genius Albert Einstein struggled to accept the quantum
concepts and phenomena that IQC researchers now utilize every day.
The workings of the quantum realm — the interplay of atoms, electrons,
photons and other infinitesimally tiny particles — provide the blueprint
for an information revolution.
Ideas once considered the domain of science fiction — teleportation,
for instance, or objects existing in multiple states simultaneously —
are being harnessed in next-generation technologies that promise to
transform our world.
Ultra-powerful computers, unbreakable cryptography, nanotechnologies
of unprecedented precision — these are just some of the discoveries
being pioneered through quantum information research.
Welcome to the quantum frontier. Prepare to be amazed. 2012 Annual Report
4 A Message from the Chair of the Board Contact us 5 a Message from the Executive Director 200 University Avenue West 6 Overview of IQC Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1 World-Class Science; World-Class People Phone: 1-519-888-4021 8 Why Go Quantum? Fax: 1-519-888-7610 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 8 faculty and Research Assistant Professors Email: [email protected] 9 core Areas of Research 10 understanding Quantum Information iqc.uwaterloo.ca 12 Making Qubits Work For You 14 the Interplay of Theory and Experiment 16 in the Lab: Quantum Hardware 18 lighting the Way to Quantum Computing and Communications 20 a New Breed of Technologies
special feature
Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre 22 Building for the Future
A Magnet for the World’s Best 24 postdoctoral Fellows 28 sir Anthony Leggett 29 Graduate Program 30 Meet our Graduate Students 32 iQC Alumni 32 awards & Recognition
IQC to the World; the World to IQC 34 scientific Outreach 35 conferences, Workshops & Schools 36 Events 36 iQC Online 38 iQC's Global Reach 39 Academic & Scientific Visitors
The Year in Review 40 iQC by the Numbers 42 Governance, Management & Administration 43 thank You Tom Brzustowski Chair of the Board, IQC
A Message from the Chair of the Board
IQC’s first decade has been tremendously exciting. Since its creation in 2002, the institute has become an international leader in quantum information research, making strides in realizing the vision of what quantum information might mean to the world. The formula for IQC’s success is simple to state but challenging to apply: attract the top minds in the field, welcome them into a culture of intellectual excitement rich with opportunities for collaboration, and provide them with the tools they need to conduct leading- edge research. It has been a pleasure for IQC's Board of Directors to see this endeavour come to fruition. Many are contributing to its continuing success, but it could not have happened without the leadership and dedication of Executive Director Raymond Laflamme.
The celebration of IQC’s 10th Christopher Wilson. These exceptional Research at IQC has also sparked the anniversary year is crowned by the scientists bring a depth of expertise creation of two start-up companies — institute's exciting and important and variety of experience that a sign that the quest for the quantum expansion into the new Mike & Ophelia enrich IQC’s research capabilities. computer will produce valuable, Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre. practical results along the way. This architectural marvel at the centre I am also pleased to welcome Pearl One company, Universal Quantum of the University of Waterloo’s main Sullivan, the University of Waterloo’s Devices Inc., has already made the first campus is a monument to the vision new Dean of Engineering. I’m sure sales of its flagship quantum optics and generosity of Mike and Ophelia she will follow in the footsteps of her product, adding to the University Lazaridis, and to the university’s predecessor, Adel Sedra, whose strong of Waterloo’s long tradition of commitment to excellence in research. understanding and support of IQC I entrepreneurship and innovation.
A nnual R Its outstanding laboratory facilities will have always appreciated. enable IQC scientists to surge ahead to On behalf of the Board of Directors, Through teaching and mentorship, new levels in their research. I thank the researchers, students and IQC researchers nurture the next staff for their contributions to IQC, eport 2012 | IQC continues to recruit top minds from wave of quantum scientists. Ninety-six and I look forward to their future around the world. This year, the institute graduate students, 31 new this year, accomplishments. welcomed research assistant professors studied alongside senior researchers. Vadim Makarov and Radu Ionicioiu, as This young group represents the well as 10 new postdoctoral fellows, future of quantum science. They will iqc.uwaterloo.ca taking the institute’s total complement go on to solve problems that seem Tom Brzustowski of postdoctoral researchers to 40. IQC insurmountable today, and their own Chair of the Board, IQC welcomed four new faculty members students will not know a world in which this year: professors Robert Koenig, quantum information is not pervasive Matteo Mariantoni, Guo-Xing Miao and throughout technology.
4 A Message from the Executive Director
I’ve heard it said that big things come in small packages, but I like to rephrase it. The very smallest packages — atoms, electrons, photons and other quantum particles — will bring about the next big thing.
The quantum information revolution promises to forever change the ways Raymond Laflamme Executive Director, IQC we work, communicate, play and live. Amazingly, this global revolution is fuelled by particles and forces so incredibly tiny and fragile that merely observing them changes their properties.
Since IQC was founded a decade ago, our researchers have peered ever-deeper into the quantum realm, learning how to control nature’s building blocks to develop powerful new technologies. Incredible progress has been made so far, and the pace of this progress is accelerating.
The coming year promises to be IQC’s most exciting yet, as the institute has just expanded its research operations into the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre. For quantum research, this facility is — quite literally — the next big thing. fundamental questions of quantum We could not have achieved this level The 285,000-square-foot building is mechanics or developing innovative new of excellence without the vision of Mike remarkable in every way, from its technical technologies — is regularly published in and Ophelia Lazaridis. The institute also specifications to its collaborative spaces leading journals, showcased at prestigious receives tremendous support from federal and stunning architecture. This truly conferences and recognized with national and provincial governments, and thrives in unique building provides the quiet and and international grants and awards. Our the vibrant academic environment at the low-vibration environment needed faculty members share their expertise University of Waterloo. to perform cutting-edge quantum with postdoctoral fellows and students experiments. The entire facility is designed who come to IQC from every corner of the IQC is establishing Waterloo and to inspire collaboration and attract top globe. This next generation of quantum Canada as the world’s “Quantum Valley.” researchers from around the world. pioneers will develop a deep intuition for Ultimately, this is happening thanks to the brilliant and curious minds who make IQC’s expansion into the new building the quantum realm and lead the world into great science happen here every day. represents another giant leap in the the quantum information age. To all the individuals and organizations evolution of the institute. What started We believe our breakthroughs should be whose support and guidance allow IQC a decade ago with a handful of brilliant shared with the government organizations, to lead the global quantum information theorists has grown to become the industry partners and members of the revolution, thank you. world's foremost hub of theoretical public who support the research. IQC and experimental quantum information hosts many scientific conferences, research — with more growth yet to come. workshops and summer schools, and Raymond Laflamme IQC is well on its way to achieving even its publishes a growing library of literature Executive Director, IQC most ambitious goals. Research conducted and videos aimed at sharing quantum at the institute — whether probing science with the world. 5 Our Vision: harnessing quantum mechanics will lead to transformational technologies that will benefit society and become a new engine of economic development in the 21st century. Ov er v iew o f IQC
Overview of IQC
IQC was officially created in 2002, sparked by the vision of Mike Lazaridis, to foster pioneering research into the next revolution in technology — quantum information science. Harnessing the quantum laws of nature promises powerful new advances in fields spanning computing, communications and sensors — and IQC was created to lead this charge.
Throughout history, humans have Today, IQC is a highly successful An exciting milestone in IQC's history learned to tame and control natural partnership between the University of was the expansion into the Mike & phenomena — fire, steam and Waterloo, the private sector, and both Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano electromagnetism, for example federal and provincial governments. Centre this year. This remarkable
A nnual R — to improve their lives. IQC is facility features a state-of-the-art now harnessing nature at its most In just 10 years, IQC has become the cleanroom, cutting-edge experimental fundamental level. world’s largest research centre devoted infrastructure and innovative spaces to quantum information science and designed to foster dialogue eport 2012 | Building on the University of technology. It has created a unique between researchers. Waterloo’s long-standing strengths training program for postdoctoral in engineering, mathematics and fellows and students, and is intensifying It’s a simple recipe: attract top computer science, IQC quickly communication and outreach programs. scientists, give them the best tools recruited world-class researchers IQC — and Canada — are becoming and collaborative opportunities, iqc.uwaterloo.ca in the theory underlying quantum internationally recognized as leaders in and breakthroughs will happen. information, providing the nucleus of the global quantum race. excellence to attract experimentalists.
6 IQC’s new headquarters, the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre
Our Mission: to develop and advance quantum information science and technology at the highest international level through the collaboration of computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians and physical scientists.
This Year
Strategic Objectives 20 Faculty 4 Research Assistant Professors To establish Waterloo as a world-class centre for research 40 Postdoctoral Fellows 1 in quantum technologies and their applications 96 Graduate Students To become a magnet for highly qualified personnel in the field 2 of quantum information 152 New publications in peer-reviewed journals and To establish IQC as the authoritative source of insight, analysis conference proceedings and commentary on quantum information 3 69 Institutions collaborating on joint research projects and publications
The result of a unique and forward-thinking partnership 154 Visiting scientists between the private sector, government and academia, the 21 Long-term visiting scientists Institute for Quantum Computing is a shining example of the university’s tradition of fostering innovation and research excellence. Now headquartered in the new Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, IQC will boldly lead Canada and the world toward a quantum future.
~ Feridun Hamdullahpur, President, University of Waterloo
7 Why Go Quantum?
Computers keep getting smaller and more powerful, because engineers keep figuring out ways to cram more tiny transistors onto each microchip.
W Microchips have doubled in Once considered impediments orl d-C lass S cience ; W World-Class processing power, and halved to computing, quantum in size, every two years since the phenomena have been shown 1950s, as predicted by Moore’s Law. to enable remarkable new Science; information technologies But every law has a limit, and vastly superior to their classical Moore’s is no exception. counterparts. Ultra-fast computers, World-Class The miniaturization of transistors unbreakable cryptography, will soon reach the atomic scale — unprecedented nanotechnology a realm where the laws of classical — researchers at IQC aim to unlock orl d-C lass P eople People physics give way to those of quantum the full potential of the quantum mechanics. At this scale, things can realm. Real innovations are already be in a superposition of multiple emerging from this research, and we states simultaneously, or intrinsically have only begun to envision the correlated by entanglement — scope, power and benefits of a counter-intuitive phenomenon quantum information. even Einstein called “spooky.” The future is quantum.
IQC’s researchers are in the Faculties of Mathematics, Faculty Science and Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Name Name Name Name Name Name Jonathan Baugh Andrew Childs Richard Cleve David Cory Joseph Emerson Thomas Jennewein Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo (School of) Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Chemistry Combinatorics Computer Science Chemistry Applied Mathematics Physics and Astronomy Member since and Optimization Member since Member since Member since Member since
Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca 2 0 0 7 Member since 2 0 0 4 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 9 2 0 0 7
Name Name Name Name Name Name Hamed Majedi Guo-Xing Miao Michele Mosca Ashwin Nayak Kevin Resch John Watrous Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo (School of) Electrical and Electrical and Combinatorics Combinatorics Physics and Astronomy Computer Science Computer Engineering Computer Engineering and Optimization and Optimization Member since Member since Member since Member since Member since Member since 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 5 2 0 1 1 Co-founder and 2 0 0 2 Deputy Director 8 Core Areas of Research W
Quantum Information Theory Quantum Cryptography Nanoelectronics-Based orl d-C lass S cience ; W Quantum Information Understanding how to harness Providing information security by Processing quantum mechanical phenomena capitalizing on quantum effects. for computing, communications, The use of nano-scale technologies sensors and other technologies. Quantum Error Correction such as quantum dots or & Fault Tolerance superconducting circuits to Quantum Algorithms Understanding how to control implement quantum processing. The instructions by which quantum quantum systems in the presence Optical Quantum information processors perform of imperfections and imprecision.
Information Processing orl d-C lass P eople computations. Spin-Based Quantum Using the properties of light Quantum Complexity Information Processing particles, or photons, to carry and Identifying which problems quantum Developing quantum processors that process quantum information. processors can — and cannot — use the “spins” of quantum particles handle efficiently. such as electrons and atomic nuclei.
Name NameName Name Name Name Name Robert Koenig Raymond Laflamme Debbie Leung Adrian Lupaşcu Norbert Lütkenhaus Matteo Mariantoni Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Applied Mathematics Physics and Astronomy Combinatorics Physics and Astronomy Physics and Astronomy Physics and Astronomy Member since Member since and Optimization Member since Member since Member since 2 0 1 2 Co-founder and Member since 2 0 0 9 2 0 0 6 2 0 1 2 Executive Director 2 0 0 5
Research assistant professors
Name Name Name Name Name Name Frank Wilhelm Christopher Wilson Radu Ionicioiu Vadim Makarov Marco Piani Dmitry Pushin Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Waterloo department Physics and Astronomy Electrical and Applied Mathematics Physics and Astronomy Physics and Astronomy Physics and Astronomy Member since Computer Engineering Member since Member since Member since Member since 2 0 0 6 Member since 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 2
9 W orl d-C lass S cience ; W Understanding Quantum Information orl d-C lass P eople Q What is the “Quantum Advantage?"
IQC Executive Director By Prof. Raymond Laflamme Raymond Laflamme stands A with IQC’s nuclear magnetic resonance system — one of the best early prototypes of All computers do one thing exceptionally well — follow quantum computing. instructions. Those instructions are encoded as bits that we typically describe as “one” or “zero.”
Over the years, computers have continually become more powerful thanks to the miniaturization of transistors — the “switches” that flip between one and zero. Smaller distances between transistors allow bits to "talk" to each other more quickly. Transistors are getting so tiny, in fact, that they’re shrinking down to the atomic scale, where the rules of quantum Are we there yet? mechanics come into play. Q
Computers that capitalize on these laws — quantum computers Because quantum particles such as atoms and electrons — have the potential to be incredibly more powerful than even are so incredibly small and sensitive to disturbance, they today’s most advanced supercomputers. are not easy to harness and control. Imagine a children’s choir — difficult to wrangle and calm down, but the This boost in processing power arises from uniquely quantum resulting harmony is greater than the sum of its parts. phenomena such as “superposition” — the ability of quantum Currently, quantum computing research is aiming to particles to be in multiple states simultaneously. A computer achieve the understanding and control necessary to that uses quantum particles is not limited to processing just two truly unlock the quantum advantage. Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca states (one or zero), but rather multiple states simultaneously, allowing the computer to accomplish many tasks at once. Every Quantum computers will shine new light on our world, time a new quantum bit (or qubit) is added to the computer, and their importance cannot be overstated. Building the processing power can increase exponentially. With this the quantum computer remains a long-term goal, kind of speed-up, a quantum computer could solve problems but along this path, many new ideas, opportunities considered intractable for present-day computers, thus shaking and technologies are already emerging. Quantum the foundations of computer science. technologies including sophisticated communications systems and sensors are bursting out of the lab and entering the marketplace. These technologies will enable tremendous advances in materials science, chemistry, physics, geology, medicine and countless other fields. The quantum revolution is well under way, and we’re just getting started.
10 Quantum crypto in the cloud
“Demonstration of Blind Quantum Computing,” Science, 20 January 2012, Vol. 355 U n d erstan d ing Q uantum I n f
IQC postdoctoral fellow Anne Broadbent was part of an international team of theoretical and experimental researchers whose work on perfectly secure “cloud computing” was published in a January 2012 issue of Science.
The team’s breakthrough ormation represents a crucial step toward secure global quantum computing. Because first-generation quantum computers will likely be housed in specialized facilities accessed by remote users, data security will be of paramount importance. Broadbent’s work with What is an entangled quantum state? Q collaborators in Austria, Singapore and the UK is the implementation of “blind By Prof. Richard Cleve quantum computing,” which A perfectly safeguards private information in this “cloud” The quantum world has some counter- computations with an enormous reduction in scenario. The information intuitive effects — such as events occurring their communication "cost" when compared is secure because potential in multiple ways that cancel each other to processors that do not utilize quantum eavesdroppers — and the out, and, as a result, not occurring at all effects. There are even some remarkable computer itself — are (a phenomenon known as interference). cases in which entanglement causes “blind” to the information Also, in the quantum realm, two or more communication costs to reduce from a being transmitted. physical systems can exist in an “entangled” large amount to zero (in the language of state. Such systems may be very far apart theoretical physics, these are called Bell from each other but, nevertheless, there is inequality violations.) a sense in which they behave as one single system. This can be described precisely in I have helped develop this distributed the language of mathematics. computing paradigm in quantum computing. Also, together with my theorist colleagues at card From the perspective of information IQC — including Andrew Childs, Joseph processing, entangled systems can be Emerson, Radu Ionicioiu, Debbie Leung, viewed as special kinds of distributed Norbert Lütkenhaus, Michele Mosca, Did you know that Richard Feynman computers — consisting of separate Ashwin Nayak, Marco Piani, and was the first scientist to propose putting processors that work co-operatively to — I have studied quantum John Watrous quantum particles to work in powerful perform computation. One of the important entanglement from a variety of other new information technologies? resources in distributed computing perspectives that have advanced our systems is the communication between understanding of quantum computing, the processors. It turns out that entangled quantum cryptography, as well as processors can, in many cases, perform fundamental physics. 11 Theoretical researchers Andrew Childs (left) and Ashwin Nayak share ideas at a whiteboard. W orl d-C lass S cience ; W orl d-C lass P eople
Making Qubits Work For You
Q How do you “program” a quantum computer? A By Prof. Andrew Childs
Quantum computers have the potential However, factoring is only one potential quantum walk algorithms to revolutionize information processing. application of quantum computers. that dramatically outperform By representing information quantum The field of quantum algorithms aims classical computations. mechanically, one can solve a problem to find new ways to program quantum by carefully choreographed interference computers to solve a variety of While many potential applications Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca between different computational paths. important problems. of quantum computers are already Using this behaviour, quantum computers known, much work remains. Ongoing can solve some problems significantly One idea that has recently proven research in quantum algorithms seeks faster than ordinary classical computers. useful for quantum algorithms is to develop new quantum algorithmic the concept of "quantum walks." techniques and use these techniques The field of quantum information was Whereas many classical algorithms to design fast quantum solutions to kickstarted in 1994 when Peter Shor use random walks to explore the classically hard problems. Together with described an efficient quantum algorithm space of possible solutions, quantum my IQC colleagues Richard Cleve, for breaking integers into their prime walks allow quantum computers to Michele Mosca, Ashwin Nayak, and factors. The factoring of large numbers, explore in superposition, sometimes John Watrous, I pursue new ways which lies at the heart of modern offering a significant performance that quantum computers can cryptography, is thought to be intractable advantage. Quantum algorithms outperform classical ones. for classical computers. Shor’s result researchers at IQC have made showed that not only would quantum major contributions to the subject, computers be powerful, but they could studying the behaviour of quantum have dramatic practical consequences. walks on graphs and developing 12 card M a k ing qubits wor k f
Did you know that a quantum computer of only 300 qubits could create a superposition of more states than there are atoms in the universe?
New quantum or you algorithm is a perfect "fit"
"Quantum algorithm for data fitting," Physical Review Q What is quantum complexity? Letters 109 (2012) IQC postdoctoral fellow Nathan Wiebe, with Seth Lloyd (MIT) By Prof. Ashwin Nayak and Daniel Braun (Université A de Toulouse), demonstrated a quantum algorithm that Whereas the study of quantum algorithms space than previously thought possible. applies to a widely used data explores what quantum computers can The discovery is just one notable example analysis technique. achieve, complexity theory essentially of how theoretical researchers are gaining examines how difficult a given computation deeper understanding of the power and They described an algorithm to will be. Some problems can be tackled by potential of quantum algorithms. improve "least-squares fitting" a quantum computer exponentially faster using a quantum computer. than by a classical computer. For other Computational hardness could also Building upon earlier work problems, quantum computation provides be an asset, in that we could design a that proposed an algorithm no relevant advantage. cryptographic scheme that would be as for solving linear systems of hard to break as solving a hard problem. equations, Wiebe and colleagues Simply put, my fellow complexity Present-day RSA cryptography is an adapted it to efficiently estimate theorists and I try to find out how example, as its security is based on the the quality of a data-fit without “hard” a given problem is for a quantum hardness of integer factorization for needing to obtain a full solution computer to solve. classical computers. Based on similar first, or needing to fully principles, the complexity of quantum characterize the state of the For example, IQC’s John Watrous problems could lead to new schemes for quantum computer. This would and collaborators achieved a significant secure encryption. enable rapid searches for simple, breakthrough in 2009 when they resolved accurate approximations to a decade-old complexity problem by In any challenge, it pays to know massive quantum data sets. proving the equivalence of two collections what you’re up against. With better of computational problems (QIP and understanding of the difficulty of "It's an enabling tool for PSPACE). At the heart of this discovery is computational problems, we can better subsequent work that could be the demonstration that a single algorithm understand how to approach them. used to certify the output of can allow us to solve all the problems future quantum computers," within QIP (polynomial-time quantum said Wiebe. interactive proofs) with exponentially less
13 card W orl d-C lass S cience ; W
Did you know that in 1998, Michele Mosca and colleagues implemented the first experimental The Interplay of realization of a two-qubit quantum algorithm? Theory and orl d-C lass P eople Experiment
Why pursue theoretical and Q experimental research?
IQC team advances By Prof. Michele Mosca error correction A "Demonstration of Sufficient Control for Two Rounds of IQC theorists and experimentalists IQC postdoctoral fellow Anne Quantum Error Correction in a pursue a number of different but Broadbent, for example, conducted Solid State Ensemble Quantum complementary avenues in the quest to the theoretical research underlying a Information Processor," better understand and utilize the power major experimental result achieved Physical Review Letters, of quantum information. by an international team of 107, (2011) experimentalists and published this To fully unlock this quantum power, we An advance made by an IQC year in Science. IQC research assistant must characterize, test, and ultimately research team in experimental professor Vadim Makarov, meanwhile, control the behaviours of various quantum error correction was performs experimental verification of quantum systems. This involves deep showcased on the prominent quantum cryptography systems, while I, theoretical exploration into the nature science website PhysOrg.com. along with Prof. Norbert Lütkenhaus of quantum information — such as The IQC research team and others, develop theoretical tools the research done by IQC professors demonstrated a three-qubit underpinning the testing of untrusted Joseph Emerson, Debbie Leung, error correcting code using quantum apparatus. Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca Marco Piani and John Watrous, the magnetic resonance of among others. This fundamental The quantum circuits team I lead with carbon nuclei in a single crystal knowledge underlies a number of adjunct professor Dmitri Maslov (their results were published methods for controlling and using noisy looks at connecting high-level quantum in Physical Review Letters). and not-fully-characterized quantum computer programs and algorithms “We’ve shown that there is the systems, such as fault-tolerant quantum with realistic physical architecture to control possible to perform error correction, quantum control, and make the best use of limited quantum error correction in solid-state protocols for using untrusted quantum computational resources — in other systems where the information apparatus. Experimental testing and words, the building blocks of a is encoded on nuclear spins,” implementation of these theoretical quantum compiler. IQC postdoctoral fellow concepts leads to their application, Osama Moussa said in the and also provides critical feedback Only through the collaborative efforts PhysOrg article. and guidance for the theorists. of theorists and experimentalists can quantum information research as a whole reach its full potential.
14 T he interplay o f theory an d experiment
IQC Deputy Director Prof. Michele Mosca delivers a presentation on the fundamentals of quantum information research.
Q What is quantum error correction? A By Prof. Joseph Emerson
IQC researchers, both theoretical they can be given the values of zero, secondary protocols to ensure the final and experimental, strive to control one, or a superposition of both zero operations stay below a certain the workings of the quantum world and one, which leads to the quantum error threshold, which is the focus of — which is easier said than done. speed-up in computation. To preserve fault-tolerant quantum computing. Quantum information is very powerful, and harness superposition, researchers but also very fragile. In particular, must therefore find ways to reduce and Currently theorists and experimentalists it is susceptible to a process called ultimately eliminate the decoherence at IQC are working on ways to improve “decoherence.” of physical systems that make up a existing quantum error correction quantum computer. schemes and identify which schemes Decoherence describes any unwanted are most effective for different physical process in which quantum information Fortunately, researchers at IQC and realizations of quantum information loses its “quantumness” (or its quantum elsewhere have discovered clever processing. At IQC, my colleagues “coherence”). Quantum coherence strategies, generally called quantum David Cory, Raymond Laflamme, is what enables superposition — the error correction, to meet the challenge Debbie Leung, Frank Wilhelm uniquely quantum phenomenon in of overcoming decoherence. and others have all made important which a physical system such as an contributions toward understanding and atom exists in all its possible states Quantum error correction centres overcoming quantum errors. simultaneously. around the idea that quantum information can still be recovered after This superposition principle is essential decoherence has occurred, provided for unlocking the power of quantum the errors are sufficiently mild. Since information processing. Because the implementations of error correction quantum bits exhibit superposition, are themselves “noisy,” researchers add
15 W orl d-C lass S cience ; W In the Lab: Quantum Hardware orl d-C lass P eople
Prof. Jonathan Baugh stands atop the dilution refrigerator used to cool quantum systems to near absolute zero. Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca
Quantum dots research yields “simple yet elegant” results
"Coherent Control of Two Nuclear Spins Using the Anisotropic Hyperfine Interaction," Physical Review Letters 107 (2011).
An experimental result achieved by IQC researchers in late 2011 has been likened to an elegant "tango" between quantum particles. The researchers were able to put nuclear spins into a kind of lockstep with instructions from an electron — an important advance toward using nuclear spins for quantum computation.
IQC researchers Jonathan Baugh, Raymond Laflamme, Yingjie Zhang and Colm Ryan pioneered a new technique that capitalizes on "anisotropic hyperfine interaction" between an electron and two nuclear spins in a solid-state system.
16 Q Is there a blueprint for the quantum computer? A By Prof. Jonathan Baugh I n the L ab : Q uantum H ar d Imagine you would like to build your dream nature don’t offer this privilege), and they home. You’d start with ideas of what you have great potential to be scaled up into want — a spiral staircase, for example, or a larger systems. master bedroom with walk-in closets — and you’d work with architects and builders to This question of “scaling up” is central to make your dream a reality. experimental quantum information research. Realizations of quantum bits will only be At IQC, many of us are trying to build a useful if they can be reliably duplicated dream computer: the quantum computer. many times over and integrated into We have some ideas about what it will do — large processors. ware harness quantum phenomena to accomplish tasks today’s computers cannot — but we Another promising candidate for scalability don’t yet know the exact architecture or is superconducting qubits — the research hardware that will make it a reality. Along focus of my colleague Adrian LupaŞcu. with my fellow experimentalists at IQC, I am These devices are very small electrical circuits turning blueprints into lab demonstrations. with superconducting elements that exhibit quantum behaviour. Another colleague, Controlling quantum phenomena with the Guo-Xing Miao, is performing leading-edge precision needed for computing requires research at the intersection of spintronics and experimentalists to push their setups to topological quantum computing. extraordinary lengths. IQC’s labs are home to a variety of experimental setups, each taking It’s unlikely that future quantum computers a different approach to quantum information will emerge from any one experimental processing, each with its own advantages and approach, but more likely from a hybrid challenges. Collaboration is key to solving of several approaches. That’s why David the big challenges of quantum information Cory’s lab at IQC utilizes a broad range processing, which are often beyond the of approaches spanning nuclear magnetic scope of any one particular approach. resonance, electron spin resonance, optical setups and more. As we continue to draw The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) lab the blueprint for the quantum computer, led by Raymond Laflamme, for instance, we are using all the architectural tools at is one of the earliest and most successful our disposal. prototypes for quantum computing. Using the same principles that underlie the MRI machine at a hospital, the NMR setup uses the “spins” of molecular nuclei as bits for quantum computation.
Whereas the NMR lab uses nuclear spin, work in my lab aims to harness the spin of electrons. Much of my research involves card quantum dots, which are mesoscopic devices that can be considered “artificial atoms," and can be made to hold a single electron. Did you know that Electron Spin Resonance, Because they are engineered devices, they used for quantum information research, is also can be "tuned" with applied voltages to have desired properties (the atoms provided by used to study certain properties of wine?
17 Prof. Thomas Jennewein with a model of the satellite that will enable secure quantum communications and experiments in space. W orl d-C lass S cience ; W orl d-C lass P eople
Lighting the Way to Quantum Computing and Communications
Q How is light used in quantum information research? A By Prof. Kevin Resch
Light, whether originating from the Creating entanglement in the It is hard to imagine quantum sun, a lightbulb or a laser, is made laboratory is not easy, but tremendously communication without light, given up of tiny particles called “photons.” useful once achieved. For instance, that light is the only quantum system
Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca My research aims to harness the entangled photon pairs are used in to date in which entanglement can unique and fascinating properties creating the cryptographic "keys" for be distributed over distances on of photons for applications spanning quantum key distribution, a form of the 100-kilometre scale. In quantum fundamental investigations of quantum ultra-secure cryptography. computation, light will serve as a “bus” mechanics and applied research or link between separate quantum into quantum cryptography and Much of the research in my lab is computers, and may serve as the communications. dedicated to generating, detecting and computer itself. manipulating photons — both single One of the most important attributes photons and entangled photon pairs. Quantum sensors harnessing quantum of any quantum system involving light IQC faculty member Hamed Majedi properties of light will produce the is “entanglement” — the uniquely conducts related research aimed most sensitive measurements of quantum correlation that exists between at developing ultra-sensitive, high- fundamental properties, such as position particles, even if they are separated by efficiency photon detectors that can or force. Scientific breakthroughs large distances. be used to measure these photons. enhancing our control over light will be crucial to the development of quantum information science in the future.
18 LIGHTING THE WAY TO QUANTUM COMPUTING AN D COMMUNICATIONS
New chip advances optics research
“Monolithic Source of Photon Pairs,” Physical Review Letters 108 (2012)
A collaboration between IQC and the University of Toronto led to a chip that should greatly advance quantum photonics research. Developed at U of T and tested at IQC, the waveguide chip can perform crucial functions that typically require the large, expensive equipment of an optics lab. The chip enables a new method for creating entangled photons at wavelengths useful for quantum information applications. Such a chip could be integral to the development of scalable photonics-based quantum computers and other quantum technologies, says IQC postdoctoral fellow Rolf Horn, who tested the chip with former IQC professor Gregor Weihs. The team’s results were published in Physical Review Letters, and highlighted in a Focus article in the same issue.
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In 2004, a group of scientists performed a secure quantum-protected bank transfer Can quantum communication go global? through fibre-optic cables installed in the Q sewers under Vienna. A By Prof. Thomas Jennewein
As citizens of the information age, we My research focuses on the To create global quantum entrust our most important private possibility of a secure global communications networks, we need data — our banking information and quantum communications network a way to overcome these distance medical records, for instance — to what connected by satellite. limits. The solution: send our we hope is unbreakable encryption. equipment into orbit on a satellite. Quantum cryptography is among I am working closely with IQC Though most online encryption the first real-world technologies to colleagues Raymond Laflamme techniques rely on mathematical have already emerged from quantum and Norbert Lütkenhaus to problems too difficult for present-day information research. One branch of determine the feasibility of a computers to crack, we know that quantum cryptography, Quantum Key quantum-encrypted global quantum computers will be powerful Distribution (QKD), is already being communications project. Experts enough to break these codes. This used in real-world communications from the universities of Waterloo, is one of the chief motivations of — including a secure link that spans Toronto and Calgary, along with quantum cryptography — the use of several kilometres over Waterloo. Perimeter Institute and government quantum phenomena to make codes QKD protects private data because agencies, are working together on that are impossible to break (even by of a fundamental quantum law: any this innovative project. a quantum computer). observation of a quantum system alters it. That means that eavesdropping on a Although a link-up of this kind will A number of my IQC colleagues quantum “key” is detected before any require incredible precision — photons — including Richard Cleve, private data is exchanged; only a key sent from earth will need to reach a Debbie Leung, Michele Mosca that bears no such “fingerprint” is used fast-moving satellite many kilometres and Ashwin Nayak — have to encode private information. away — we’ve determined that it can made pioneering contributions to indeed be done. We envision full-scale quantum cryptography in areas QKD is a wonderful tool for ensuring networks connected by satellite and including quantum fingerprints and data security, but there’s a problem — fibre-optics, protected by quantum quantum money. Research assistant after traveling about 200 kilometres cryptography. professor Vadim Makarov tests through fibre-optic cable, the photons quantum cryptography hardware for used to make the “key” are scattered vulnerabilities with the aim of certifying and no longer useful. the security of these systems. 19 W orl d-C lass S cience ; W orl d-C lass P eople
Prof. David Cory, a leader in the development of quantum devices, delivers a public lecture A New Breed during an IQC Open House of Technologies
Q Are quantum devices being developed now?
By harnessing quantum mechanics, be vastly superior to their classical Cory’s lab is equipped with a wide researchers are trying to build devices counterparts, and could have important range of experimental equipment that achieve the maximum efficiencies applications across many fields. — nuclear magnetic resonance, afforded by the laws of nature. electron spin resonance, optics and Prof. David Cory’s work is largely low-temperature setups — all with Devices based on quantum mechanics focused on the spin properties of the goal of detecting, measuring and Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca are not necessarily new. Some have quantum particles. Think of spin as controlling quantum systems with been around since the last century, a small bar magnet — the smallest ever-greater accuracy. such as magnetic resonance imaging allowed by nature. Cory and his team (MRI), transistors and lasers. But the aim to achieve sufficient control of Cory, Dmitry Pushin and their new generation of technologies being quantum systems to build spin-based colleagues investigate a broad range researched and developed through information processors and sensors. of approaches to quantum technology, quantum information science aim because the power of future quantum to harness the full power of Progress is being made every computers will almost certainly come quantum mechanics. day. Quantum sensors now under from hybrid structures that capitalize development, for example, will on the best aspects of each. While a full-scale quantum computer likely have near-term applications is still a long-term goal, researchers in chemistry, such as advances in are now building devices based on thin-film samples — a process quantum information principles — important to medicine and devices that have the potential to materials science.
20 IQC-NIST collaboration yields advance in sensors
“Experimental realization of a decoherence-free subspace in neutron interferometry,” Physical Review Letters 2011 A new b r eed of tec h nologies Researchers at IQC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) made an advance in quantum sensor technology that could have widespread applications in industry.
ca The team pioneered a rd new approach to neutron Did you know that diamonds sparkle and interferometry, which have colour because of certain defects in can be used to measure — their crystalline structure including properties of sample nitrogen vacancy centres, which are materials. Previously, the studied as small-scale, room-temperature technique was hindered by quantum processors? its sensitivity to vibrations,
requiring experiments to be shielded inside a massive blockhouse. The advance by IQC researchers David Cory and Dmitry Pushin, and NIST researcher Michael From Discovery Huber, was to make the interferometer much more to Innovation resistant to such disturbance. Inspired by work in quantum Quantum information science continues to move from pure research toward practical, error correction, they commercially available devices. Patents and spin-off companies are already emerging added a fourth blade to from IQC research — a trend that will surely accelerate alongside the pace of discovery. the interferometer, which effectively cancels out the IQC’s first spin-off company, Universal Quantum Devices Inc., made its first sale in the disturbances that plagued spring of 2012. The company’s signature product, a novel logic unit conceived by UQD standard three-blade co-founder and IQC faculty member Thomas Jennewein, is a multi-purpose device that interferometers. The modified accomplishes many tasks central to quantum optics research. interferometer can be set up closer to the source of In June 2012, the institute presented a full-day workshop called Quantum neutrons, allowing for faster Entrepreneurship, aimed at preparing researchers to enter this emerging quantum and more accurate generation marketplace. Board Chair Tom Brzustowski encouraged IQC students to make their of data. own unique contributions to Canadian innovation and prosperity. IQC postdoctoral fellow Rolf Horn, himself a quantum entrepreneur who has launched a start-up company called QuSpin (which specializes in quantum photonics waveguide chips), described his experiences in the relatively uncharted territory of quantum entrepreneurship.
21 22 Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre building fo r t h e futu Building for the Future
It takes a visionary to look beyond what’s happening now and to imagine what’s possible for the future. Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis are visionaries whose forward-thinking philanthropy made possible the Institute for
Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca Quantum Computing and the breakthroughs it has achieved.
IQC Executive Director, Raymond Laflamme
22 IQC is at the forefront of quantum information processing research, making the University of Waterloo one of the world's premier destinations in the field. The opening of the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre will enable leading-edge multidisciplinary research through the collaboration of nanotechnology and quantum experts working side by side. With this unique combination of strengths from science and math to engineering, the opportunities for The centre will help bring the best designing and developing novel components to build miniaturized devices with extraordinary minds to study small things and capabilities are virtually endless. produce big results. Pearl Sullivan, Dean, Faculty of Engineering
Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
23 Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre
The Institute for Quantum Computing is celebrating a decade of discovery, and has taken another giant leap in its evolution with the opening of the building fo r t h e futu Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre.
Building for the Future
1999 2001 2002 2003 2004
Aiming to build The University of November 27, 2002 — The Canadian Faculty members Andris upon the University Waterloo and the the Institute for Quantum Institute for AMBAINIS, Richard of Waterloo's Perimeter Institute Computing celebrates its official Advanced Cleve and Gregor
Annual Report 2012 | internationally work together to opening as a research institute Research Weihs join IQC recognized strengths recruit Raymond housed in the University of (CIFAR) launches D avid Poulin, IQC’s first in mathematics and Laflamme Waterloo’s Physics building its Quantum PhD student, graduates computer science, from Los Information from the University of Michele Mosca Alamos National program led Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Waterloo forms the first Laboratory; by Raymond make first personal donation quantum information he becomes Laflamme The institute expands to of $3 million to help kick start group at the University IQC's founding B.F. Goodrich building research efforts at IQC. The IQC launches
iqc.uwaterloo.ca of Waterloo Executive Director contribution is matched by outreach efforts M ike and Ophelia Mike and Ophelia the Canadian Foundation for inviting local high Lazaridis make Lazaridis pledge Innovation and the Ontario school students donation of $30 million support for a Innovation Trust to tour labs to support research at quantum information IQC, and work with the Prof. Ashwin Nayak joins IQC research institute University of Waterloo at the University to secure further funding of Waterloo totalling $100 million The Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre opened in The building is an architectural marvel designed to inspire awe September 2012. Constructed to the most stringent scientific and spark collaboration — essential ingredients in exploring the standards — including controls for vibration, temperature, quantum frontier. A magnet to Waterloo, it will attract the world's humidity, electromagnetic radiation and more — the facility top scientists and foster the next wave of quantum breakthroughs. enables quantum information research at the highest international IQC’s first decade saw tremendous growth and research excellence; level. The ultra-sterile cleanroom/fabrication facility, for example, the next decade and beyond will see quantum science emerge from is constructed upon a separate foundation from the rest of the the labs as practical technologies that will greatly benefit society. building, ensuring that it will never vibrate more than a micron (a fraction of the width of a human hair).
B.F. Goodrich building
2005 2006 2007
Faculty members Joseph Faculty members Norbert Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis continue to support research at Emerson, Debbie Leung Lütkenhaus, Kevin Resch, John IQC with a pledge of $50 million, inspiring contributions from the and Hamed Majedi join IQC Watrous and Frank Wilhelm Province of Ontario (2006) and Industry Canada (2009), each join IQC valued at $50 million, totalling $150 million M ike and Ophelia Lazaridis donate more than $17 million to IQC-led team achieves long-standing IQC and Perimeter Institute collaborate for month-long conference, IQC research at the University world record for universal control of “Taming the Quantum World” of Waterloo — $12.5 million of largest number of quantum bits (12) Faculty members Andrew Childs and Jonathan Baugh join IQC which serves as initial funding used for computation for Quantum-Nano Centre Phillip Kaye, Raymond Laflamme and Michele Mosca publish The Canadian Foundation for construction respected textbook An Introduction to Quantum Computing Innovation and the Ontario Research Jonathan Baugh Fund grant $36 million to IQC and the IQC hosts Open House and panel discussion with internationally implements algorithmic Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology renowned scientists Sir Anthony Leggett, Gilles Brassard, cooling in solid-state NMR for the construction of a fabrication Peter Shor and Raymond Laflamme (Mike Lazaridis moderates) facility; the University of Waterloo also Nobel Prize winner Sir Anthony Leggett delivers his first annual contributes $13 million summer lecture series at IQC as the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Canada's quantum research network, Distinguished Research Chair QuantumWorks, launches under the leadership of Raymond Laflamme In September 2012, IQC expanded into the new Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre
Research Advancement Centres I & II
2008 2009 2010
Groundbreaking of the Mike & Ophelia Faculty members Thomas David Cory joins IQC as Canada Excellence Research Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre Jennewein and Adrian LupaŞcu Chair in Quantum Information Processing — supported by join IQC federal funding of $10 million over seven years IQC expands into Research Advancement Centre I (RACI) The Quantum Tamers: Revealing our IQC expands into Research Advancement Centre II (RACII) Weird & Wired Future wins top prize — funded by IQC's benefactors Mike Lazaridis and Design and construction of the RACI at the Parascience Film Festival — Doug Fregin cleanroom begins Joseph Emerson and Raymond John Watrous and collaborators win best paper award at Inaugural year for IQC’s Quantum Laflamme serve as scientific STOC conference for QIP=PSPACE breakthrough Cryptography School for Young advisors for the documentary Students (QCSYS) IQC welcomes more than 800 visitors to annual open house Andrew Childs demonstrates how and public lecture by David Cory Kevin Resch develops a new type of to compute using quantum walks interferometer inspired by quantum The University of Waterloo and IQC launch the collaborative Inaugural year for IQC’s entanglement properties graduate studies program in quantum information Undergraduate School for Gregor Weihs and Chris Erven build Experimental Quantum Information Prof. Stephen Hawking is welcomed by University of a quantum cryptography prototype Processing (USEQIP) Waterloo President Feridun Hamdullahpur for a special tour of IQC IQC hosts public open house and lecture IQC postdoctoral fellow Rolf Horn and student Chris Erven launch IQC's first spinoff company, QuSpin, specializing in quantum photonics wave guide chips Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre
acts ing Guo-X , join IQC as faculty k F Quic 2012 Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre Mike Mariantoni Matteo , her Wilson Christop t Koenig and Miao Rober IQC celebrates 10 years as a world-leading research research as a world-leading 10 years IQC celebrates and continues of Waterloo the University at institute agenda and ambitious research expansion its rapid studies graduate of the collaborative graduates First in quantum information program & Ophelia Lazaridis Opening of the Mike Grand Quantum-Nano Centre A spinoff company led by IQC researchers, IQC researchers, led by A spinoff company sale the first Inc., makes Quantum Devices Universal for a multi-purpose tool product, of its signature quantum optics research splits into two or four rooms to accommodate up to 220 people up to accommodate to rooms or four two splits into
provides common ground for scientists of all disciplines to to of all disciplines scientists for ground common provides
enables design of structures billionths of a metre in size of a metre billionths enables design of structures
,
for control of vibration, humidity, electromagnetic radiation and temperature radiation electromagnetic humidity, of vibration, control for accommodate conferences, public lectures and more public lectures conferences, accommodate
en the Institute for Quantum Computing and Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology for Institute and Waterloo Quantum Computing for en the Institute e to minimize electromagnetic interference and vibration interference electromagnetic minimize to
heart of campus retractable seating retractable vid Wineland at the at a on WIN side represents strong natural nanostructures natural strong on WIN side represents D
, Anne Broadbent of varying reflectivity/transparency on IQC side metaphorically signify quantum superposition; quantum superposition; on IQC side metaphorically signify reflectivity/transparency of varying
underground 2011 Chip Elliott launches a program with the launches a program square feet, shared betw shared feet, square
and cleanroom/fabrication facility cleanroom/fabrication highest scientific standards highest Ralph Merkle , architectural marvel architectural ertical windows Shared Six-storey atrium with floating staircase with floating atrium Six-storey ighly convertible “mind spaces” Highly convertible 285,000 honeycomb pattern honeycomb Meets with multi-tiered Auditorium meet and collaborate An Labs constructed V Centre -Nano ridis Quantum phelia Laza Mike & O aillefer ouis T IQC postdoctoral researcher researcher IQC postdoctoral quantum communication Canadian Space Agency that will use satellites for for will use satellites that Agency Canadian Space L Don Eigler Jennewein Thomas hosting renowned speakers including speakers renowned Series hosting Lecture Quantum Frontiers Distinguished Distinguished IQC launches Quantum Frontiers conference with the Perimeter Institute Institute Perimeter with the conference in Physics" annual "Women first co-organizes A Magnet for the World’s Best Postdoctoral Fellows
Working alongside IQC’s faculty and students are 40 postdoctoral fellows who represent the next wave of leaders in quantum science. In the coming pages, a few of these postdoctoral fellows share their
A M agnet fo r t h e W perspectives on life, research and IQC. o r ld ’ s B est
Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca Anne Broadbent CIFAR Junior Fellow
For me, solving a math problem is This is when living on our country farm Right now, I am growing a vegetable like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. makes a big difference for me. After garden and helping my husband raise Sometimes, everything works out a day of deep reflection and abstract our farm animals. I love my research job well and the pieces come together thinking, I like to work on something a and find it very rewarding, but when perfectly. Other times, I aim to solve bit more tangible, like tending to the I am stuck on a tough puzzle, it’s the one puzzle, but magically end up with sheep and goats. And guess what: short-term sense of satisfaction that a result that is even more beautiful and solutions often dawn on me while comes from growing a tasty tomato or amazing than what I set out to create. I'm working in the barn, almost as if tending to a herd of sheep that keep But often it feels like some pieces of my brain needs to go back to neutral me going. the puzzle are missing: is there really before switching to the next gear. a solution, or should I move on to a different puzzle?
24 Postdoctoral Fellows 2012
Gorgan Alagic Oleg Gittsovich Seth Merkel Urbasi Sinha Mohammad Ansari David Gosset Rajat Mittal Yipu Song Mustafa Bal Patryk Gumann Hamid Mohebbi Jon Tyson Olaf Benningshof Gus Gutoski Osama Moussa Nathan Wiebe Dominic Berry Brendon Higgins Mustafa Muhammad Zizhong Yan Anne Broadbent Rolf Horn Florian Ong Bei Zeng Jianxin Chen Tsuyoshi Ito Robert Prevedel Jingfu Zhang Lin Chen Zhengfeng Ji Emily Pritchett Chris Erven Piotr Kolenderski Robabeh Rahimi Darabad
Motohisa Fukuda Eduardo Martin-Martinez Aiden Roy P ost d octoral Fellows Silvano Garnerone William Matthews Krister Shalm
Eduardo Martin-Martinez Banting Postdoctoral Fellow
Since childhood I have been fascinated tremendous complexity of all living are interlaced with the structure of by the biomedical sciences, even though beings. That’s what continues to intrigue space-time, I’m inspired by how I always knew I wanted to be a physicist. me about the biomedical sciences. other scientists tackle other types of
I thought that by studying physics I In the dense jungle of complexity, complex problems. could find precise answers to my most beyond the scope of mathematical fundamental questions. rigour, biomedical scientists not only I recently had the good fortune of understand the workings of life, but becoming a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow Although physics did indeed provide me they save lives. — a fellowship named after the man who with answers about the universe, it has discovered insulin. Being included in also taught me that in the 21st century I remember my grandmother telling this fellowship program is an enormous we still don’t fully understand every me, when I was 10 years old, that I privilege. I cannot help but hope that complex system, including an extremely would never have existed if my father in a not-so-distant future, physics important one — life. hadn’t received life-saving antibiotics and medicine will not be considered for pneumonia. I have since debated completely separate disciplines, but I am used to doing science in a very questions of life with doctors, biomedical will rather enrich and inform each mathematical and formally rigorous way; scientists and biologists, and the other through their shared approaches as a physicist, I understand how the conversations are always fascinating. In to knowledge. difficulty of describing a physical system my studies of how quantum phenomena grows with its complexity.
With time, I have accepted that our most powerful mathematical approaches are still not sufficient to deal with the
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Did you know that the double-slit experiment, a classic demonstration of quantum effects, “the most beautiful physics was named ” experiment by Physics World in 2002?
25 Postdoctoral Fellows continued
Brendon Higgins Banting Postdoctoral Fellow
Superposition is undeniably cool. and animal characteristics existence: many fans even represent Something existing in two different (physical features like fur, ears and “themselves” as anthropomorphic
A M agnet f states simultaneously is fascinating tails, as well as temperament). animals. For some it’s a mask, while for and weird, and I love being able to play others it’s just a fun way of expressing with that idea in different contexts — Anthropomorphic art goes back themselves. In either case, engaging polarization (horizontal vs. vertical), millennia, but the modern furry fan with this community and its art is a bit energy (ground vs. excited state), or community began as an offshoot of like performing a change of basis: you or the W species (human vs. wolf). the science fiction fan community, and have to think in terms of superimposed it continues to possess similarities with properties, both human and animal, One of my more obscure hobbies that and other genres — anime and that make up these characters.
orl d’ s B est takes place in a fictional fantasy comic book fandoms. It has websites, “Human or animal?” is simply the multiverse full of hybrid animal- fanzines, and even conventions where wrong question to ask. And, similarly people of various shapes, colours, fans meet, exchange stories and art, to a quantum superposition, its answer species and creeds. I’m a fan of dress in costume, and generally have can be unpredictable. what’s known as anthropomorphic or an awesome time (Toronto held such “furry” artwork — drawings, paintings, a convention in March — it was a riot). For me, entering this strange cartoons and stories that feature superposition world — undergoing the creatures possessing both human Within the furry community, it’s more change of basis — is a fun and fulfilling characteristics (intelligence, speech, than just the fictional characters transformation. facial expressions and bipedal motion) that profess this “superpositional” Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca
26 P ost d octoral Fellows
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Did you know that the speed of light in an optical fibre is 60% of the
speed of light in a vacuum?
Florian Ong
Hanging out every day amid quantum Now in southern Ontario and still in Although this call partly arises from stuff is thrilling and mentally the process of exploring how the a need to escape the confinement of nourishing, but spending so much human body can relate to time and the lab, achieving goals in duathlons, time questioning the infinitely small space, I have turned to endurance or any outdoor adventure, requires with complex machinery can become sports in general, and duathlon in many traits also necessary in my somewhat overwhelming. I need to particular (as a pathetic swimmer, everyday work: dedication, patience, counterbalance these elusive, highly the doors of triathlon competition are perseverance, passion, and sometimes technical pursuits with more grounded, unfortunately shut to me). I’ve started self-sacrifice. But above all, whether tangible activities, which typically running rather recently, and I’ve always I am running across mountains or involve wide-open spaces, human been an enthusiastic bicycle commuter. squeezing microwave photons, I don’t locomotion and a good deal of sweat. But the idea of doing both in organized do it with a specific or pragmatic For instance, just before arriving in racing events was totally new when purpose in mind. Rather, I’m pursuing Waterloo, I spent two months hiking I signed up for my first duathlon last the beauty and harmony of nature in across the Alps, from southern France summer. I was hooked immediately a selfless and maybe absurd quest. To to Slovenia, with a tent, silence and and did it again and again, increasing quote Cyrano de Bergerac, “C’est bien wildlife as my only company. This was the distance, pushing the limits plus beau lorsque c’est inutile." the best thing my mind and body could further and further. have imagined after a few years in a different quantum environment.
27 GRADUATE STUDENTS 2012
Matthew Amy Marcin Kotowski Elena Anisimova Michal Kotowski Razieh Annabestani Jeremy Kroeker Juan Miguel Arrazola Alexandre Laplante Jean-Philippe Bourgoin Jonathan Lavoie A M agnet f Steven Casagrande Nicholas LeCompte Grant Cleary Xian Ma Alessandro Cosentino Easwar Magesan Daniel Criger Laura Mancinska or the W Pierre-Luc Dallaire- Iman Marvian Demers Michael Mazurek Chunqing Deng Thomas McConkey
orl d’ s B est John Donohue Evan Meyer-Scott Amin Eftekharian Sergei Mikheev Chris Erven Hamid Mohebbi Agnes Ferenczi Abel Molina Prieto Chris Ferrie Felix Motzoi Kent Fisher Takafumi Nakano Joshua Geller Varun Narasimhachar IQC’s Laureate in Residence: Naimeh Ghafarian Mohamad Niknam Kaveh Gharavi Joachim Nsofini Sir Anthony Leggett MirMotjaba Gharibi Jean-Luc Orgiazzi Sevag Gharibian Yingkai Ouyang Nickolay Gigov Maris Ozols Sir Anthony Leggett, Nobel “IQC has established itself as Luke Govia Adam Paetznick Prize-winning physicist, the leading institution in the Christopher Granade Daniel Park arrives at IQC by bicycle world in quantum information,” Matthew Graydon Gina Passante on a sweltering morning — says Leggett, who is based Peter Groszkowski Om Patange a daily tradition for the past at the University of Illinois Nupur Gupta David Pitkanen six summers. at Urbana-Champaign. Holger Haas Chris Pugh “It's stimulating to make Sir Leggett — or Tony, as he Deny Hamel Daniel Puzzuoli contact between my personal is known to his friends and Fatin Haque Farzad Qassemi expertise — mainly in colleagues at IQC — spends Aimee Heinrichs Wenling Qiao condensed matter physics and every summer lecturing and Ian Hincks Sadegh Raeisi quantum foundations — and researching in Waterloo as the Tyler Holden Joseph Rebstock the exciting developments in Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Catherine Holloway Ansis Rosmanis Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca quantum information science.” Distinguished Research Chair. Gregory Holloway Yuval Sanders Leggett was one of three Amir Jafari Salim Kurt Schreiter Leggett deeply values the physicists to share the 2003 Stacey Jeffery relationships he has built in Antonio Scotland Nobel Prize in Physics for Waterloo. He keeps his mind — Tomas Jochym-O’Connor Jamie Sikora important contributions to and his office door — open to Artem Kaznatcheev Jamie Smith low-temperature physics and new ideas and collaborations. Mohsen Keshavarz Gelo Noel Tabia superfluidity. He is deeply IQC is honoured to host the Botan Khani Denis-Alexandre Trottier interested in IQC research, Nobel Laureate each year Milad Khoshnegar Cozmin Ududec and expects it will lead to — and the honour, Leggett Shahrestani Sarvagya Upadhyay “something so exotic we have insists, is mutual. Nathan Killoran Victor Veitch not dreamed of it yet.” Feyruz Kitapli Zak Webb “Just don’t ask me what that Vadym Kliuchnikov Christopher Wood would be,” he adds. “If I knew, Robin Kothari Rui Xian I’d be doing it!”
28 Graduate Program A message from the Quantum Information Graduate Program Director G ra d uate P rogram
Though many pioneering discoveries have already been made, the biggest impact IQC will have on the world will surely be through the achievements of the brilliant young researchers emerging from the institute. I’m grateful to my friend and IQC Board member Douglas Barber, whose reiteration of
this point inspires us to provide the most comprehensive education and mentorship possible, and maintain ties with our alumni after they enter the workforce.
When we launched the collaborative quantum information graduate studies Michele Mosca Deputy Director, IQC program in 2010, our goal was to provide the next generation of quantum pioneers with the resources and training they need to make their own discoveries in this fast-changing field. The first group of students of this program are now completing their studies and entering exciting careers in academia, government, industry Graduate students are a vital part and beyond. They will be the first generation that takes quantum of quantum information research information science from fundamental research to real-world technologies at the University of Waterloo, whose that will benefit society. I can’t wait to see what they’ll accomplish. fresh perspectives take the science in unexpected and important In the coming pages, some of these brilliant young minds share what their new directions. experiences at IQC have meant to them.
Our immersive program has attracted some of the brightest young mathematicians, computer scientists, Michele Mosca, physicists, chemists and engineers Deputy Director, IQC from six continents. They benefit from an ever-growing array of courses — ca presented in collaboration with the rd University of Waterloo’s Faculties of Did you know that thanks to quantum Engineering, Mathematics and Science — information technology, atomic clocks are so and they get hands-on training in IQC’s precise that they won't lose or gain more than a state-of-the-art facilities. second over the entire lifespan of the universe?
29 Meet our Graduate Students
Jonathan Lavoie
A M agnet f I feel lucky to have had the chance to play an active role in the formation and expansion of IQC's state-of-the-art quantum optics lab. Waterloo attracts the best researchers in the field of quantum information or the W and I am so happy to have found exactly what I was looking for, right here in Canada.
orl d’ s B est Tomas Jochym-O’Connor
Being a part of IQC has provided great research potential within our scientific community while also providing the opportunity to share our findings with the outside public through many different events such as workshops, visits and open houses.
Elena Anisimova Aimee Heinrichs
IQC is a very unique place. It’s one The quantum information-specific of the few centres dedicated to courses here at IQC have given me an solving the problems of quantum excellent multidisciplinary background computing and quantum information. that has been advantageous in It is wonderful and exciting for me to find myself in such a collaborations and interactions abroad. I believe the community. There are so many talented and smart people connections and experiences I gain at IQC will definitely around conducting research — it is really inspiring. be assets in the future of my physics career.
Jeremy Kroeker Christopher Granade
As a chemistry student, I have always I have found that IQC is quite unique, not been interested in the underlying just in the depth of research opportunities mechanisms of how things work at available to me, but also in the variety. At the molecular level. The quantum IQC, I can take a class in the formalisms of information graduate program seemed like a great quantum error correction and back that up by taking classes opportunity to supplement my knowledge of chemistry that explore experimentally motivated noise models. I need not define myself as narrowly belonging to one sub-discipline, but Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca with neat ways of exploiting quantum mechanics to process information at the molecular scale. can do all the research that interests me.
Grant Cleary Kent Fisher
IQC has always interested me in terms IQC offers both a unique academic and of research opportunities because of cultural experience. Nowhere else would the critical mass of world-class talent I even dream of being able to walk down gathered here. Regardless of the a hall, find an expert on any topic in specific field of scientific study, I find that there is always quantum information, and ask them if they’re playing ball someone here who can either answer my questions, or hockey in the parking lot later. at least point me in a few good directions to find what I am looking for. For me, having this breadth of expertise in such a tightly knit community has made it possible to move my research forward in ways that may not have been possible elsewhere.
30 Mohammadreza Mohammadi and Sarah Sheldon discuss a problem at one of IQC's many whiteboards. M eet our G ra d uate S tu d ents
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Did you know that the idea of counterfeit -proof quantum money was proposed by Stephen Wiesner in 1970, but not proven until February 2012 by Courses researchers at IQC and MIT ? FALL 2011
QIC 710 Quantum Information Processing
QIC 880 Nanoelectronics for Quantum Information Processing
QIC 820 Theory of Quantum Information
QIC 890 Design in Quantum Systems Daniel Park
IQC’s unique quantum information graduate program offers WINTER 2012 a wide range of courses that cover almost all the topics in the field. I feel well prepared for my research through the QIC 750 Implementations of Quantum course work, and I enjoy auditing lectures on the topics that are not directly Information Processing related to my research but teach me about other important aspects of quantum information science. Also there are a number of seminars at IQC every week QIC 890 Optical and Atomic where I learn about the recent research going on around the world — as well as Implementations in the labs next door. QIC 890 Quantum Error Correction and Fault Tolerance Om Patange QIC 890 Applied Quantum Cryptography Being at IQC and working with Prof. David Cory has given me many unique and exciting opportunities. For example, I had the chance to build a confocal microscope from scratch, SPRING 2012 use my nanotechnology background to make samples that will make a novel quantum processor, and mentor the next generation of QIC 891 Sir Anthony Leggett Lecture Series nanotechnology engineering students. QIC 890/891 Selected Advanced Topics in Quantum Information
31 IQC Alumni Awards & Recognition Four IQC faculty earn Early Researcher Awards David Poulin Photo credit: QuantumWorks Professors Jonathan Baugh, Andrew Childs, Thomas Jennewein and Adrian Lupaşcu were After earning his PhD at the Institute among the 21 University of Waterloo faculty members to for Quantum Computing in 2004 and
A M agnet f receive the prestigious “Early Researcher Award” from working as postdoctoral fellow at Caltech, David joined the the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation. physics department at the University of Sherbrooke in 2008, Early Researcher Awards grant up to $100,000, to be earning tenure in 2011. During his PhD studies under IQC matched by $50,000 from the researcher’s institution Executive Director Raymond Laflamme, he earned the W.B. over a period of up to five years.
or the W Pearson Medal for the originality of his thesis, and the Alumni Gold Medal (awarded to the top graduate student at the University of Waterloo). His research is focused on quantum error correction, including the theory of operator codes and orl d’ s B est the creation of efficient decoding algorithms. One of his breakthroughs (published in Nature) was the discovery of a quantum Metropolis algorithm for a decade-old problem.
Marcus P. da Silva IQC Executive Director named
Marcus earned his Master’s and PhD as Fellow of APS and AAAS from the University of Waterloo in For his pioneering contributions to quantum information Physics, having worked with IQC faculty science, IQC Executive Director Raymond Laflamme members Raymond Laflamme and Frank Wilhelm during earned fellowships in two of the world's preeminent his doctoral studies. He pursued a postdoctoral fellowship scientific organizations — the American Physical at the University of Sherbrooke, working in the Physics of Society (APS) and the American Association for the Quantum Information (EPIQ) group, collaborating with fellow Advancement of Science (AAAS). The APS selection IQC alumnus David Poulin. His main area of research focus committee recognized Laflamme "for his visionary was the theory of practical characterization of states and leadership in the field of quantum information science, processes in quantum experiments. In early 2011, he joined and for his numerous fundamental contributions to the the Quantum Information Processing Group at Raytheon theoretical foundations and practical implementation BBN Technologies in Cambridge, MA, where he has worked of quantum information processing, especially quantum on projects ranging from quantum computing applications to error correction and linear optical quantum computing." quantum sensing and communications. At the 2012 AAAS General Meeting NSERC President Suzanne Fortier called Laflamme and the other AAAS Fellows "true champions for the advancement of science." Elham Kashefi
Elham was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Quantum Computing from Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca 2005 to 2006, after earning her PhD at Imperial College London. She has explored the potential of quantum information theory, from its formal and foundational aspects to actual cryptographic experiments. She is now an associate professor at the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics. She was recently elected as an Associate IQC postdocs earn prestigious Lecturer at the CNRS-Telecom ParisTech in 2011, and she fellowship co-founded QUISCO (Quantum Information Scotland Congratulations to IQC postdoctoral fellows Brendon network) in 2008. She co-developed a new cryptographic Higgins (above, left) and Eduardo Martin-Martinez protocol (with IQC postdoctoral fellow Anne Broadbent) for (right), who have earned the prestigious Banting universal blind quantum computing, which is considered a Postdoctoral Fellowship, each valued at $70,000 per significant breakthrough in the field. year over two years. Higgins, who received the award in 2011, works on experimental approaches to quantum cryptography. Martin-Martinez earned the fellowship in 2012 to support his work in relativistic quantum information theory and quantum optics. 32 Awards & Recognition
CREATE Grants
Professors David Cory and Michele Mosca received prestigious federal grants worth $1.65 million each to launch cutting-edge training and mentorship programs for young Canadian scientists. The Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grants support the training of exceptional students and postdoctoral fellows by encouraging and improving collaboration, and gaining professional skills and relevant experience while addressing important scientific challenges. NSERC funds these grants.
Pictured: Minister of State (Science and Technology) alumni an d awar d Gary Goodyear (centre) talks with recipients Michele Mosca (left) and David Cory.
Faculty awards Student Awards
Richard Cleve Bell Family Fund Mike and Ophelia NSERC Ontario Trillium for Quantum Lazaridis Postgraduate Scholarship
Distinguished Scientist at the Centrum Computing Fellowship Scholarship — Zak Webb s Wiskunde & Informatica (2011) Chris Erven Yingkai Ouyang Doctoral Chris Ferrie Farzad Qassemi Chris Erven President’s Peter Groszkowski Iman Marvian Chris Ferrie Graduate Raymond Laflamme Sarvagya Upadhyay Amin Eftekharian Jamie Sikora Scholarship Robin Kothari Ansis Rosmanis Jamie Smith Doctor Honoris Causa, The University Jamie Sikora Jonathan Lavoie Abel Molina Prieto Felix Motzoi Cozmin Ududec of Sherbrooke (2012) Pierre-Luc Sarvagya Upadhyay Robin Kothari Chris Ferrie Dallaire-Demers Juan Miguel Arrazola Easwar Magesan American Association for the Evan Meyer-Scott Joshua Geller NSERC Gina Passante Jean-Luc Orgiazzi Adam Paetznick Postgraduate Jamie Smith Advancement of Science, Fellow (2012) Antonio Scotland Scholarship Chris Erven David R. Cheriton — Master’s Hamid Mohebbi Fellow of the American Physical Graduate NSERC Alexander Extension Deny Hamel Society (2011) Scholarship Graham Bell Cozmin Ududec Kurt Schreiter Sevag Gharibian Canada Graduate Gina Passante Daniel Criger Sarvagya Upadhyay Scholarship — Jamie Smith Pierre-Luc Michele Mosca Abel Molina Prieto Doctoral Deny Hamel Dallaire-Demers University Research Chair (2012) Matthew Amy Easwar Magesan Robin Kothari Robin Kothari Jonathan Lavoie NSERC Vanier Jonathan Lavoie Ansis Rosmanis Sevag Gharibian Canada Graduate Thomas McConkey Stacey Jeffery Farzad Qassemi Scholarship Evan Meyer-Scott Matthew Graydon Gina Passante Sevag Gharibian Postdoctoral Fellows IQC Achievement Stacey Jeffery Deny Hamel Stacey Jeffery Award Evan Meyer-Scott Kent Fisher Nathan Killoran Anne Broadbent Felix Motzoi Felix Motzoi Farzad Qassemi NSERC Alexander Ontario Graduate Farzad Qassemi CIFAR Junior Fellow (August 2011) Sarvagya Upadhyay Graham Bell Scholarship Kent Fisher Evan Meyer-Scott Canada Graduate Jamie Sikora Luke Govia Oleg Gittsovich Maris Ozols Scholarship — Hamid Mohebbi Fatin Haque Easwar Magesan Masters Cozmin Ududec Tomas Jochym- Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship Sevag Gharibian Cozmin Ududec Kurt Schreiter O’Connor (July 2012) Chris Ferrie Thomas McConkey Jean Philippe IQC David Easwar Magesan Nathan Killoran Bourgoin Johnston Award Gina Passante Fatin Haque Nickolay Gigov Brendon Higgins for Scientific Deny Hamel Evan Meyer-Scott Matthew Graydon Chris Pugh Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Outreach Daniel Criger Jean Philippe Chris Erven Pierre-Luc Bourgoin Joseph Rebstock (April 2011) Jean-Luc Orgiazzi Dallaire-Demers Kent Fisher Victor Veitch Gina Passante Robin Kothari Luke Govia Evan Meyer-Scott Queen Elizabeth Eduardo Martin-Martinez Victor Veitch IQC Entrance Stacey Jeffery II Graduate Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Award Kent Fisher Ontario Graduate Scholarship Luke Govia in Science and (April 2012) Kent Fisher Scholarship Luke Govia Tomas Jochym- in Science and Technology Tomas Jochym- O’Connor Technology Agnes Ferenczi Aidan Roy O’Connor Nickolay Gigov Sevag Gharibian Alexandre Laplante Chris Pugh Yuval Sanders University of Waterloo Fields Nickolay Gigov Jamie Sikora Christopher Wood Joseph Rebstock Felix Motzoi Scholarship (August 2010) Matthew Graydon Jamie Smith Chunqing Deng Holger Haas Peter Groszkowski Chris Pugh Thomas McConkey Krister Shalm Denis-Alexandre David Pitkanen CIFAR Junior Fellow (October 2010) Trottier 33 IQC to the W orl d; the W orl d to IQC
IQC to the World; the World to IQC Scientific Outreach
Great science cannot happen in isolation. It must be shared with the people who support it, are fascinated by it, and will ultimately benefit from it. This has been a fundamental tenet of IQC since its inception a decade ago; today, the institute’s outreach agenda is broader and more exciting than ever. As the research at IQC accelerates and achieves exciting new milestones, so too do the outreach activities aimed at sharing and explaining the research. The IQC David Johnston
IQC’s outreach efforts are tailored for each of the institute’s target audiences, from prospective students and faculty to Award for Scientific Outreach the general public and partners from government, academia and industry. Outreach activities — graduate fairs, public Congratulations to the winners of IQC’s lectures, conferences, cultural collaborations, high school visits, publications, social media and many more — aim Scientific Outreach Award
Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca to educate, excite and inspire people about the quantum Up to three awards valued at $2,500 are given annually information revolution. to current graduate students at IQC who have shown an outstanding commitment to scientific outreach and community People are taking the quantum leap with IQC. Enrollment engagement. This award was created to celebrate Canadian in IQC programs, camps and workshops is skyrocketing. Governor General David Johnston’s vital contributions to IQC, A number of outreach efforts were launched in the past his passion for leadership and his enthusiasm for continuous year — from scientific conferences to a quantum-themed learning, innovation and achievement. David Johnston was symphony concert — with many more coming in the president of the University of Waterloo from 1999 to 2010. near future. The award is funded by Industry Canada. The following pages offer a snapshot of IQC’s recent This year's recipients (above, left to right): , outreach efforts, and a glimpse at the exciting times ahead. Farzad Qassemi Jamie Sikora and Evan Meyer-Scott.
34 Conferences, Workshops & Schools
General Quantumness Undergraduate School The 9th Canadian of Correlations on Experimental Student Conference on Mini-Workshop Quantum Information Quantum Information, nd February 23-24, 2012 Processing (USEQIP) and the 2 AQuA May 28 - June 8, 2012 Student Congress on Participants of this mini-workshop examined questions of non-classical Quantum Information This annual program was designed to S cienti f ic O utreach correlations — including, but not provide exceptional undergraduate and Computation limited to, quantum entanglement. students with hands-on experience June 18-22, 2012 Roughly 20 participants discussed in the field of quantum information what it means for a correlation to be processing. This year, 18 students from The event offered graduate students quantum, and how such correlations around the globe came to Waterloo to in the field of quantum information can be tested, quantified and utilized participate in the two-week camp and science an opportunity to come in information processing. engage in experimental activities and together and showcase their work theoretical lectures at IQC. with other students. Recent Progress in Quantum Algorithms 12th Annual Canadian April 11-13, 2012 Summer School on Quantum Information Two-dozen experts in quantum algorithms convened in Waterloo June 11-16, 2012 to discuss key questions and card This 12th edition of the annual event breakthroughs in the field. The brought together students from conference, hosted jointly by IQC Did you know that the human around the world to learn about and the Perimeter Institute, featured eye can detect single photons? quantum information processing. formal talks, presentations and The summer school gathered some informal discussion periods aimed at of the world’s top experts to offer forging new connections and sparking lectures on various aspects of new ideas for investigation. quantum information, and was geared toward students and postdoctoral fellows in computer science, mathematics and physics. Quantum Cryptography School for Young Students (QCSYS)
August 13-17, 2012
An introductory workshop on key concepts in quantum cryptography aimed at high school students aspiring to study quantum science at university. This year, the summer school hosted 42 students from around the world.
Students visiting IQC for the Undergraduate School on Experimental Quantum Information Processing take a tour of the fabrication facility in RACI 35 IQC to the W Events Photo used with permission – Darin White, makebright.com
orl d; the W TEDxUW Quantum Frontiers TEDxWaterloo Distinguished In a captivating Postdoctoral Fellow Krister Shalm and inspirational Lecture Series took to the stage at TEDxWaterloo talk, IQC March 21 as the ringleader of The lectures, presented once per
orl d to IQC postdoctoral a boisterous extravaganza that term, explore the ways researchers are fellow Krister included a live band, an illusionist, harnessing quantum mechanics to advance Shalm described several-thousand M&Ms, various fields at the forefront of science. the three personal discoveries that hundreds of dancers and, IQC welcomed (National forever changed his life: poetry, David Wineland of course, quantum physics. Institute of Standards and Technology) in physics and dance. On November 12 January, (University of Pictured above: Shalm explained how his seemingly Louis Taillefer Sherbrooke) in February, and Krister Shalm used swing dance, disparate passions — whether Chip Elliott (GENI) in June. live music and magic to explain wrangling photons in an IQC lab or quantum science at TEDxWaterloo. lindy-hopping to Dixieland jazz — form the poetry of his life.
Online
Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca The Quantum YouTube Library Twitter @QuantumIQC IQC’s YouTube channel hosts more than Visit pubs.iqc.uwaterloo.ca to see facebook.com/quantumiqc 130 scientific talks, IQC’s publications database — home distinguished lectures to hundreds of peer-reviewed journal and interviews with youtube.com/quantumiqc articles, conference proceedings, world-leading scientists. commentaries and other publications by Viewers can find videos of IQC's immersive IQC researchers. Searchable by author, flickr.com/quantumiqc summer camps, the Sir Anthony Leggett publication, subject keywords and other Lecture Series, and interviews with renowned criteria, the site is an online repository of researchers such as Prof. Gerard Milburn, quantumfactory.wordpress.com IQC’s leading contributions to quantum Prof. Christopher Monroe, Prof. Louis information science. Taillefer, and Prof. Wojciech Zurek.
36 events and iqc online
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Pictured above: Pictured and Razieh Annabestani IQC students Elena Anisimo held April 22 event the Girls in Science light at Girls in Science 15 elementary and high-school- Approximately for Association the Canadian age girls from an afternoon IQC for at gathered Girls in Science and fun. T of scientific discovery activities through the basics of cryptography messages secret and games, such as decoding , and Games Hunger Harry Potter and The from principles of optics with lasers explored they cables. T and fibre-optic in typically girls fun experiences young give fields of science. male-dominated quantumfactory.wordpress.com actory he Quantum T F Visit for news, videos, commentary videos, commentary news, for oddities from and miscellaneous amusing) the amazing (and often of quantum science. world
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ymphony, created in collaboration in collaboration created ymphony, conducts the the conducts win Outwater he concert, held on F he concert, Pictured above: Pictured of Science" the Frontier "Quantum: Music at Quantum: Music at the at Quantum: Music of Science Frontier the Kitchener- by A pair of sold-out concerts S Waterloo of music histories the parallel with IQC, explored century. the past over and quantum science T Ed in Symphony Kitchener-Waterloo narration, visuals, sound experiments and an visuals, sound experiments narration, carry the audience to eclectic musical program the quantum realm. into on a journey The IQC website is home to all of the to is home IQC website The to relevant and resources information — from audiences target the institute’s to and faculty students prospective public. and the general government recruiting source, is a news site The and a gateway learning resource tool, IQC social media. to iqc.uwaterloo.ca IQC’s Global Reach
Quantum information science is multidisciplinary, bringing together researchers During the 2011 from many areas of expertise. IQC scientists consider collaboration a catalyst calendar year, for discovery. Researchers at the institute often work closely with peers from IQC to the W IQC researchers organizations around the globe to publish and present results. The institute’s collaborated with: international network is expanding, and these connections are laying the groundwork for exciting developments in the future. 126 external researchers leading to the publication
orl d; the W of 50 joint papers
69 institutes from 20 countries orl d to IQC
National & International Agreements
IQC has signed eight official agreements to promote collaborative research with other organizations:
IBM Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Annual Meeting of the American Association for the National Institute of Informatics, Japan National Research Council, Canada Advancement of Science (AAAS) National Science Council of Taiwan IQC had a strong presence at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, February 2012. National University of Singapore The meeting is the world's largest scientific gathering, with an estimated 12,500 Raman Research Institute, India participants this year, ranging from scientists and journalists to policy-makers and the Tsinghua University, China general public. IQC faculty members including Raymond Laflamme, David Cory and Thomas Jennewein participated in panel discussions with international colleagues, and the institute's outreach team developed international connections at the IQC booth. Mike Lazaridis delivered an inspirational plenary speech to an audience of thousands about why he supports cutting-edge science. Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca
38 Mohamed Abutaleb, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Daniel Kumar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gerardo Adesso, The University of Nottingham Mitsuru Kusumoto, Kyoto University Jason Alicea, University of California, Irvine Paul G. Kwiat, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Itai Arad, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Thomas Lauprêtre, Laboratoire Aimé Cotton Academic Vikram Sharad Athalye, Cummins College of Engineering Jonathan Leach, University of Ottawa for Women Thomas Lehner, Dotfast-Consulting & Scientific Michal Bajcsy, Stanford University Marko Loncar, Harvard School of Engineering and Howard Barnum, Los Alamos National Laboratory Applied Sciences Patrice Bertet, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Saclay Dawei Lu, University of Science and Technology of China Visitors Jacob Biamonte, University of Oxford Shunlong Luo, Academy of Mathematics and Systems Lev Bishop, University of Maryland Science Chinese Academy of Sciences Fernando Brandão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Thomas Lutz, Universität Ulm Visitors from May 1, 2011 to Daniel Braun, University Toulouse Paul Sabatier Vadim Lyubashevsky, École Normale Supérieure, Paris
Misha Brodsky, AT&T Steve MacLean, Canadian Space Agency April 30, 2012 G lobal reach an d v isitors Aharon Brodutch, Macquarie University Frédéric Magniez, Université Paris Diderot Raffi Budakian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Loïck Magnin, Centre for Quantum Technologies, National Irfan Bulu, Harvard University University of Singapore Oleg Tretiakov, Texas A&M University Jonas Bylander, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Arka Majumdar, Stanford University Sarvagya Upadhyay, Centre for Quantum Technologies, John Calsamiglia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Matteo Mariantoni, University of California, Santa Barbara National University of Singapore Paola Cappellaro, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Igor Markov, University of Michigan Berkant Ustaoğlu, Sabanci University Carlton M. Caves, University of New Mexico Eduardo Martin-Martinez, Instituto de Fisica Fundamental Maarten van den Nest, Max Planck Institut für Marcos Cesar de Oliveira, Universidade Estadual de Ralph Merkle, Singularity University Quantenoptik Campinas Maiken Mikkelsen, University of California, Berkeley Ramarathnam Venkatesan, Microsoft Research Donny Cheung, Tornado Medical Systems Nathaniel Nelson-Fitzpatrick, University of Alberta Rajamani Vijayaraghavan, University of California, Berkeley Eric Chitambar, University of Toronto Leonardo Neves, University of Concepción, Center for Paolo Villoresi, University of Padova Matthias Christandl, Institute for Theoretical Physics Zürich Optics and Photonics Amy Wang, Tsinghua University Roger Colbeck, Perimeter Institute Corey O’Meara, University of Guelph Yun-jiang Wang, University of Calgary Antonio Corcoles, IBM Steven Olmschenk, University of Maryland Tzu-Chieh Wei, University of British Columbia Jason Crann, Carleton University Gerardo Ortiz, Indiana University Bloomington Gregor Weihs, University of Innsbruck Toby Cubitt, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Hanhee Paik, Yale University Yaakov Weinstein, MITRE Corporation Hang Dinh, Indiana University South Bend Mauro Paternostro, Queen’s University Birgitta Whaley, University of California, Berkeley Helen Fay Dowker, Imperial College London Jason Petta, Princeton University Christopher Wilson, Chalmers University of Technology Luming Duan, University of Michigan Daniel Posch, Office of Science and Technology David Wineland, National Institute of Standards Freeman Dyson, Institute for Advanced Study, Benedikt Pressl, Universität Innsbruck and Technology Princeton University Robert Prevedel, Research Institute for Molecular Jörg Wrachtrup, University of Stuttgart Dirk R. Englund, Columbia University Pathology and Max F. Perutz Laboratories GmbH Xiaodi Wu, University of Michigan Jay Erker, University of California, Davis Timothy Ralph, University of Queensland Lianao Wu, Universidad del País Vasco Omar Fawzi, McGill University Chandrasekhar Ramanathan, Dartmouth College Amir Yacoby, Harvard University Steve Flammia, University of Washington Christopher Raub, University of California, Irvine Yutaro Yamaguchi, Kyoto University Chi-Hang Fred Fung, The University of Hong Kong Grégoire Ribordy, id Quantique Jun Yong Khoo, University of Oxford Joshua Geller, University of Rochester David Rideout, University of California, San Diego Beni Yoshida, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alexey Gorshkov, Harvard University Arnau Riera, Potsdam University Nengkun Yu, Tsinghua University and University Fabio Grazioso, École Normale Supérieure Cachan Alexander Rimberg, Dartmouth College of Technology Adam Green, University of Calgary Terence G. Rudolph, Imperial College London Shizhong Zhang, Ohio State University Simon Gröblacher, California Institute of Technology Mary Beth Ruskai, Tufts University Shengyu Zhang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jeongwan Haah, California Institute of Technology Vincent Russo, Wayne State University Hongchao Zhou, California Institute of Technology Alioscia Hamma, Perimeter Institute Kei Sano, Kyoto University Lucien Hardy, Perimeter Institute Dylan Saunders, Griffith University Aram Harrow, University of Washington Carmelo Scarcella, Politecnico Di Milano Andrew Houck, Princeton University Leonard Schulman, California Institute of Technology Peter Høyer, University of Calgary Naresh Sharma, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Hannes Hübel, Stockholm University Fred Shultz, Wellesley College Kazuo Iwama, Kyoto University Irfan Siddiqi, University of California, Berkeley Rahul Jain, Centre for Quantum Technologies, Ray Simmonds, National Institute of Standards and National University of Singapore Technology Liang Jiang, Caltech Jonathan Simon, Harvard University Stephen P. Jordan, National Institute of Standards and Sidharth Somanathan, Texas A&M University Technology Rolando Somma, Los Alamos National Laboratory card María José García, Spanish National Research Council William Stacey, University of Alberta Sarah Kaiser, Bethel University David J. Starling, University of Rochester David Kaiser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Douglas Stebila, Queensland University of Technology Dongpeng Kang, University of Toronto Gordon Stovel, Canadian Foundation for Innovation Did you know that electron beam Marc Kaplan, University of Montreal Dieter Suter, Universität Dortmund lithography enables the creation of Gurneet Kaur, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mario Szegedy, Rutgers University Yoon-Ho Kim, Pohang University of Science & Technology Louis Taillefer, University of Sherbrooke patterns as small as 20 nanometers Jens Koch, Northwestern University Yongchao Tang, Tsinghua University in size? That's 20 billionths of a metre. Dax Enshan Koh, Stanford University Seiichiro Tani, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Vladimir Korepin, Stony Brook University Communication Science Laboratories Yuimaru Kubo, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Daniel Terno, Macquarie University Energy Commission Junichi Teruyama, Kyoto University
39 50
40
30
20
10
The Year0 in Review IQC by the Numbers
May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012
Researchers at IQC
IQC is home to 20 faculty members, 4 research assistant professors, 40 postdoctoral fellows, 96 graduate students, 36 research assistants, 21 long-term visitors, 6 technical specialists T he Y ear in R e v iew and 20 communications, information technology and administrative staff.
Faculty & Postdoctoral Fellows
Faculty Postdoctoral Fellows Research Assistant Professors
50 40 40
30 35
20 30
10 25
0 20 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 15 Fiscal Year 10 Annual5 Expenditures
0 QNC Building Other Expenses Building, Equipment & Maintenance Salaries & Benefits
40
Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca 35
30 )
25
20
15 Expenses ($ millions
10
5
0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Fiscal Year
40 Long-Term Visitors
Vikram Sharad Athalye Won-Young Hwang Thomas Lutz Amin Baumeler Shelby Kimmel Laura Piispanen Aleksandrs Belovs Antti Karlsson Carmelo Scarcella Troy Borneman Yusuke Kondo Hou Shiyao Guanru Feng Christian Konrad Sarah Sheldon Thomas Guenthner Kevin Krsulich Virginia Villanueva Bettina Heim Jun Li Yafei Yu iqc by the numbers
Publications
Notable publications in the journals Nature, Nature Photonics, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, Physical Review Letters, Science, STOC, FOCS and the Journal of Mathematical Physics represent high-level, peer-reviewed discoveries by IQC researchers.
Publication 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Nature 3 2 1 3 1 Nature Photonics 1 1 1 Nature Physics 1 1 5 5 3 Nature Communications 1 Physical Review Letters 10 7 16 14 17 Science 2 1 1 1 2 STOC 1 2 1 2 FOCS 3 1 Journal of Mathematical Physics 1 2 2 4
800 Cumulative Publications by Cumulative Citations of IQC 700 IQC Researchers Publications: Google Scholar 800 600 15,000 700 500
600 400 15,000 10,000 500 300
400 200 5,000 Number of Publications 10,000 300 100 Number of Citations 0 200 5,000 0 Number of Publications 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 100
Calendar Year Number of Citations Calendar Year 0 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Calendar Year Calendar Year
41 Governance Management & Administration IQC Board of Directors Tom Brzustowski (Chair), RBC Professor, Telfer School of Management Management Douglas Barber, Distinguished Professor-in-Residence, McMaster University Raymond Laflamme, Executive Director Paul Corkum, University of Ottawa and National Research Council Robert Crow, Executive in Residence Robert Crow, Executive in Residence, IQC Michele Mosca, Deputy Director George Dixon, Vice-president, University Research, University of Waterloo Cosimo Fiorenza, Vice-president and General Counsel, Infinite Potential Group Laboratory Support David Fransen, Consul General, Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles Vito Logiudice, Director of Operations, T he Y ear in R e v iew Peter Hackett, Executive Professor, School of Business at the University of Fabrication Facility Alberta & Fellow, National Institute for Nanotechnology Brian Goddard, Senior Fabrication Equipment Raymond Laflamme, Executive Director, IQC Technologist, Lab Instructor Mike Lazaridis, Founder, Board Vice-Chair, and Chair of the Innovation Nathan Nelson-Fitzpatrick, Nanofabrication Committee of Research In Motion Limited Process Engineer Michele Mosca, Deputy Director, IQC Roberto Romero, Electronics and Instrumentation Peter Nicholson, Retired President, Council of Canadian Academies Technologist Rodello Salandanan, Senior Equipment Technologist William R. Pulleyblank, Professor of Operations Research, United States Ivar Taminiau, Laboratory Technician Military Academy, West Point Communications and Outreach Executive Committee Jasmine Graham, Communications Officer George Dixon (Chair), Vice-president, University Research Jaymis Goertz, Web and e-Communications Officer Robert Crow, Executive in Residence, IQC Craig Hennessey, Videographer Ian Goulden, Dean, Faculty of Mathematics Colin Hunter, Senior Communications Officer Peter Kovacs, Videographer Raymond Laflamme, Executive Director, IQC Martin Laforest, Manager, Scientific Outreach Terry McMahon, Dean, Faculty of Science Kimberly Simmermaker, Events, Outreach & Michele Mosca, Deputy Director, IQC Communications Co-ordinator Pearl Sullivan, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, IQC Information Technology
Steve Weiss, Associate Director, Information Technology Matthew Cooper, Client Support Specialist Scientific Advisory Committee Ryan Goggin, Computing Specialist Annual Report 2012 | iqc.uwaterloo.ca Prof. Gerard Milburn (Chair), University of Queensland Prof. Harry Buhrman, Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica Administration
Prof. Anthony J. Leggett, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lorna Kropf, Assistant Director, Administration Prof. Christopher Monroe, University of Maryland Matt Schumacher, Associate Director, Finance Prof. Umesh Vazirani, University of California, Berkeley Andrew Dale, Administrative Co-ordinator/ Financial Assistant Prof. Anton Zeilinger, University of Vienna Lisa David, Administrative Assistant Prof. Wojciech Hubert Zurek, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Monica Dey, Graduate Program Coordinator Santa Fe Institute and Recruitment Assistant Melissa Floyd, Administrative Support Matthew Fries, Visitor Co-ordinator Chin Lee, Assistant to the Deputy Director Mary Lyn Payerl, Financial Administrator Wendy Reibel, Administrative Officer Carly Turnbull, Administrative Assistant 42 Thank you
IQC thanks Mike and Ophelia Thank you to the following individuals and organizations Lazaridis, the Province of Ontario, for their generous and continued support of IQC: Industry Canada and Canada’s Advanced Research and Development Activity Economic Action Plan for their Army Research Office visionary support. Bell Family Bruker Biospin Canada Canada Excellence Research Chairs Canada Foundation for Innovation Canada Research Chairs Canada’s Economic Action Plan Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations COM DEV Communications Security Establishment Canada Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Disruptive Technology Office Government of Canada Government of Ontario IBM Industry Canada Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Ontario Centres of Excellence Ontario Innovation Trust Ontario Research Fund Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Premier’s Research Excellence Fund QuantumWorks Research In Motion The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation The University of Waterloo
Special thanks to the University of Waterloo, IQC’s home, for supporting and celebrating research, innovation and excellence. Published by: IQC Communications & Outreach
Jasmine Graham Colin Hunter iqc.uwaterloo.ca