"Quantum computation will both call on and enable algorithms for increasingly sophisticated quantum gadgetry. Within 100 years it will become the central method of chemistry and materials science."
This visionary quote by Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek [Wil16] echoes the sentiment of many researchers in the field, but we may not have to wait a hundred years.
We are at a special moment in time in which the promise of a quantum computer and quantum internet lies within our grasp. Large-scale efforts in The Netherlands and around the world are in progress to develop quantum technologies, as a full-scale quantum computer will have unprecedented computational abilities. It will be able to break the security of almost all modern-day cryptography, and promises to perform ground breaking quantum chemistry simulations towards the development of new materials and medicines.
The QSC sees an exciting possibility that already small quantum computers allow us to solve interesting problems that are out of reach for any classical machine.
For the first time in history, advances in hardware enables us to test quantum error-correcting schemes, algorithms and protocols on devices that – although small – are too large to be simulated classically. This approach is essential if we want to move from early-stage quantum information science towards fulfilling the dreams of fully fledged quantum computing at large-scales.
To this end the Quantum Software Consortium (QSC ) is established by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from Amsterdam, Leiden and Delft, with backgrounds in computer science, mathematics, engineering and physics. QSC includes pioneers of quantum information processing algorithms and protocols, condensed matter theory, cryptography as well as experimental physics. The QSC will leverage the nearby clusters of expertise in quantum software (QuSoft, QuTech & Leiden) and quantum hardware (QuTech, Amsterdam & Leiden). The synergy between the QSC applicants puts us is in a perfect position to promote a quantum software revolution and provide The Netherlands with broad leadership in the quantum era.