Seven quantum researchers at the University of Waterloo have been awarded more than $1.3 million to advance research in quantum communications and quantum sensing and detection.
The funding is made possible through a collaboration with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) programs.
Each project has been selected for its potential to support key elements and specific missions of Canada's National Quantum Strategy and the U.K. National Quantum Strategy. The funding will enable Waterloo researchers to work closely with their international counterparts, sharing knowledge and resources to achieve their collective research goals.
"Thank you to NSERC and UKRI for this significant investment in collaborative quantum research," says Charmain Dean, vice-president, Research and International. "The successful Waterloo projects have the potential to develop important breakthroughs in diverse areas including environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics and defence. International research collaborations are a fantastic opportunity to build new networks, exchange knowledge and leverage highly specialized equipment."
Meet the Waterloo researchers who are advancing quantum technology for improved health-tech systems and environmental science:
Dr. Eihab Abdel-Rahman
Faculty of Engineering | $380,000
Dr. Eihab Abdel-Rahman alongside Dr. Mustafa Yavuz are spearheading a groundbreaking project to develop ultra-sensitive quantum sensors that work in everyday conditions. Using a special material called hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN), their team is designing sensors capable of detecting tiny changes in the environment with remarkable accuracy.
Unlike many quantum sensors that require extremely cold or controlled environments, these new sensors will function at room temperature, making them far more practical and accessible. To achieve this, their team is creating new methods to build the sensors, ensuring they are reliable, affordable and easy to produce.
With these advancements, their sensors will have the potential to make a big difference in fields like health care, by enabling earlier disease detection, and environmental science, by identifying pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Dr. Alexandre Cooper-Roy
Faculty of Science | $500,000
Dr. Alexandre Cooper-Roy alongside Dr. Alan Jamison, researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, are leading research in Canada to develop and demonstrate next-generation quantum sensors.
These sensors use the principles of entanglement, where multiple particles are made to interact, massively increasing measurement precision. They are set to advance critical sectors like health care, defense, and fundamental science. Cooper-Roy studies Rydberg atoms and Jamison studies ultracold molecules. Each has built a research system to trap and measure their choice of particle. Due to their unique properties, both molecules and atoms can be used to precisely measure electromagnetic fields, and together, they aim to develop protocols for quantum sensing using entangled states of atoms and molecules.
Dr. Alex May
Faculty of Science | $489,500
Dr. Alex May along with Drs. Debbie Leung and Thomas Jennewein will lead a research program to develop new applications of quantum networks, advance existing applications and assess their feasibility and utility. With a focus on networks with satellite-based nodes, the team will develop resource cost and benefit models based firmly on current and foreseeable quantum technologies.
Some of the applications they will consider are unforgeable money schemes, a near-term application of potentially high economic impact in financial and related sectors. This work contributes significantly to fundamental research on quantum information and quantum communication theory. They will develop the theory of summoning, which characterizes how information can move through a network when subject to timing constraints and network coding, which mitigates the effect of noise in quantum networks.
University of Waterloo acknowledges the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI).
