Professor Sonia Coriani from DTU Chemistry is partner in a research project between the University of Copenhagen, DTU, and the University of Southern Denmark, which has received DKK 40 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation to develop quantum chemical calculation methods for quantum computers.
In the research project Hybrid Quantum Chemistry on Hybrid Quantum Computers, Professor Sonia Coriani (DTU), Professor Stephan P.A. Sauer (UCPH), and Professor Jacob Kongsted (SDU) will work closely together to solve the major challenges inherent in developing quantum chemical algorithms and tools to enable the calculation of molecular properties of biological systems—such as metalloenzymes and light-harvesting chromophores in proteins—on hybrid classical-quantum NISQ (noisy intermediate-scale quantum) systems.
“The way quantum computers work is so fundamentally differently from that of classical computers that the algorithms and methods we use today cannot simply be transferred to and reused on the new type of hardware. In order to optimally utilize the new possibilities that quantum computers provide us with, we need to invent new methods and algorithms. At the same time, we need to determine when to use a classical computer and when to deploy the quantum computer’s strength. We are really happy that the Novo Nordisk Foundation is giving us the opportunity to develop these new methods and algorithms, which in the long term could be used to shed light on problems we cannot tackle using classical computers alone,” says Sonia Coriani.
“The ongoing efforts to develop quantum computing devices will accelerate computational chemistry by several orders of magnitude, bringing about previously unthinkable possibilities in terms of the system sizes, complexities, and accuracy levels that can be achieved by simulation. However, these possibilities can only be realized by major innovations in quantum chemistry programs.”
New quantum hub in Copenhagen
The grant for the project is divided equally between the three universities, and a fourth share is reserved for the establishment of an IBM Quantum Hub, which will be the first of its kind in Scandinavia and will give researchers from universities and industry access to NISQ computers.
“The quantum hub will provide access to NISQ computers, thus making it possible to implement concrete molecular calculations on some of the most advanced quantum computers that are currently available. At the same time, a sample of academic and industry researchers will have the opportunity to learn how to program a quantum computer, which is instrumental in preparing us to exploit the potential of the fully functional quantum computers that will hopefully become a reality within the foreseeable future,” says Lene Oddershede, Senior Vice President, Natural & Technical Sciences, Novo Nordisk Foundation.
About the project:
The project Hybrid Quantum Chemistry on Hybrid Quantum Computers is a partnership between DTU, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Southern Denmark.
The researchers will try to solve some of the major challenges involved in conducting quantum chemical calculations for quantum computers of the NISQ (noisy intermediate-scale quantum) type. The Novo Nordisk Foundation grants DKK 40 million to the project.
The researchers will use a hybrid approach, where the calculations that benefit most from taking place on quantum computers will take place on those, while other calculations will be made on classical computers.
Source: The Novo Nordisk Foundation