The Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA) is a leading ecosystem of interdisciplinary researchers in North America at the forefront of quantum information science (QIS) and technology. As a U.S. Department of Energy National QIS Research Center, QSA brings together a pioneering team that has significantly contributed to current QIS capabilities. Since its founding in 2020, the QSA team has been conducting critical early-stage research in the science and technology of quantum prototypes using major technologies like superconducting circuits, trapped ions, and neutral atoms, with algorithms designed for these nascent, imperfect hardware systems. To date, QSA has produced over 390 publications and preprints, publicly sharing the high-impact and high-risk fundamental research and development outcomes to accelerate scientific progress from discovery and prototyping to scalable industrial development.

QSA has contributed to the scientific foundation for mature quantum technologies, harnessing the power of the most advanced qubits today to co-design hardware-specific and noise-resilient algorithms for scientific computing applications. However, several fundamental questions must still be addressed across the science and technology innovation chain. To tackle the challenges ahead and continue to champion United States leadership and growth, QSA frequently engages with quantum industry members. QSA has hosted industry roundtables and listening sessions to identify technology gaps and critical challenges. It has coordinated with industry advisory boards for joint road-mapping technology exercises with input from all ecosystem sectors. 

QSA emphasizes fundamental QIS research and welcomes collaborations with companies in the field, as these partnerships help advance science and technology across all readiness levels. Several quantum companies have benefited from QSA’s extensive research network and ongoing collaborations, utilizing the expertise, feedback, and techniques shared by QSA partners to enhance their processes. Additionally, five QSA principal investigators have co-founded quantum companies, applying research results from DOE-funded institutions to promising industry use cases, further enriching commercial efforts in the field.

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Additionally, Christopher Monroe, one of the founders of the publicly traded IonQ, a professor at Duke University, and the QSA research lead, also noted that “QSA is conducting and publishing research that has impacted IonQ already, and we expect they will continue to do so in the future.”  In particular, he pointed to the examples of new classes of multiqubit quantum gates and photonic interconnects for modular quantum computing architectures. 

QSA is also building and training the quantum-ready workforce required for industry growth and the adjacent new fields, such as quantum engineering. 

Will Oliver

QSA fellowships have supported graduate students and postdocs across the member institutions in their journeys to industry. Over 50% of QSA alumni occupy prominent science and technical roles in major companies and startups. Furthermore, interdisciplinary skills training, connections to QIS experts, career fairs, and exchange experiences have attracted students and early career researchers from QIS-adjacent fields that wouldn’t have otherwise considered QIS their field of choice.

Kristen Pudenz

Quantinuum, a trapped-ion quantum computing company, has also benefited from this ecosystem by hiring graduate students, postdocs, and staff from QSA institutions and using techniques and technology developed by its members to measure the quality of its hardware.

In addition to these direct commercial impacts, QSA actively partners with industry-focused organizations and technology hubs at various stages of research and development to identify opportunities for innovation in QIS. Working with the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), QSA addresses critical needs in technology, standards, and workforce development within the quantum ecosystem. Additionally, QSA played a key role in founding Elevate Quantum, the first U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) dedicated to quantum technologies. Through all of these activities, from workforce development to fundamental research to organizational leadership, QSA and its members play a critical role in promoting the quantum industry in the United States.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to delivering solutions for humankind through research in clean energy, a healthy planet, and discovery science. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 16 Nobel Prizes. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.

The Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA) is one of the five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and with Sandia National Laboratories as lead partner, QSA catalyzes national leadership in quantum information science to co-design the algorithms, quantum devices, and engineering solutions needed to deliver certified quantum advantage in scientific applications. QSA brings together dozens of scientists who are pioneers of many of today’s unique quantum engineering and fabrication capabilities. In addition to industry and academic partners across the world, 15 institutions are part of QSA: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, University of Colorado at Boulder, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Caltech, Duke University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, UC Berkeley, University of Maryland, University of New Mexico, University of Southern California, UT Austin, and Canada’s Université de Sherbrooke. For more information, please visit https://quantumsystemsaccelerator.org/