Sherbrooke, Canada October 31, 2023 — Neutral atom quantum computing company PASQAL announced it is supporting the Faculty of Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) to open a faculty position in Applied Quantum Computing.
The company said the creation of this research chair is part of PASQAL’s strategy to deliver real-world applications to commercial industries and quantum advantage in the short term.
PASQAL is setting up a facility to manufacture quantum processors at Espace Quantique 1 of DistriQ – Quantum Innovation Zone in Sherbrooke, Canada. In this new flagship installation, PASQAL Canada will produce hardware for the North American market to accelerate the adoption of neutral atom quantum computing in the region. Within this framework, PASQAL is contributing $500,000 CAD to a full-time non-tenure-track position at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. This contribution will be matched by Canadian federal and/or provincial granting agencies, such as Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Alliance program; and Regroupements sectoriels de recherche industrielle au Québec.
The selected chair holder will lead the development of neutral atom quantum software solutions for industry, by finding the most direct paths to deliver business value and quantum advantage.
The UdeS Faculty of Engineering is a leader in education and applied research. Recognized for its dynamism in collaborative research, it stands out particularly in terms of technology transfer and concrete impacts on society.
It is also a faculty on a human scale, which favours rigorous and complete training of its students, particularly through the alternating study and internship program. In a friendly and highly collaborative environment, discovery and innovation are strongly encouraged.
To foster its long-term growth, the Faculty of Engineering is particularly focused on interdisciplinary initiatives and emerging fields. The Faculty of Engineering has several research centers as well as the Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT), a part of the Integrated Innovation Chain along with the Institut quantique (IQ) and the Centre de collaboration MiQro Innovation (C2MI).
The faculty members of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department are active in the fields of classical and quantum embedded systems engineering, autonomous vehicles, robotics, embedded artificial intelligence, neuromorphic systems, instrumentation and digital communications. The Department has seven research chairs and offers master’s and doctoral programs that allow students to work in infrastructures that bring together numerous cutting-edge research laboratories under the direction of internationally recognized researchers. The Department’s facilities include clean rooms for microfabrication, development and characterization laboratories for integrated circuit packaging, smart antennas and software-defined radio, medical devices, instruments for particle physics, power electronics and electric vehicles, embedded systems and robotics, as well as a platform for the design, development and fabrication of printed electronic circuits, a 1MW solar infrastructure, and a space and immersive audio room. Of the University’s six institutes, the Department’s faculty members are notably involved at 3IT, IQ and the Research Center on Aging (CDRV).
