ExpandQISE: Track 1: Education and Research of System and Network Supports for Quantum Cloud

Non-technical Abstract: Quantum computing offers the promise of solving intractable problems across many scientific domains including chemistry and biology. However, despite the recent advancements in quantum hardware, we are still far from the reality of quantum researchers having on-premises quantum computers. The main goal of this research is to democratize access to quantum computing resources by allowing researchers to work with qubits via the Internet. To achieve this evolution to what we have observed in classical cloud computing with the general availability of shared, public cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Service, this project studies the scientific foundation for the quantum cloud by developing general workflow and resource management algorithms. On the education front, this project integrates the fundamentals of quantum computing and traditional cloud computing techniques into the curriculum, aiming to provide theoretical and practical training to the students and prepare them for later innovating in various aspects of science requiring quantum computing and quantum networking knowledge. Technical Abstract: The project’s foundation is the design and implementation of a quantum cloud framework called QCloud that consists of novel job placement, job scheduling, and network scheduling algorithms based on proposed models of quantum circuits, gates, and remote gates. To effectively manage quantum cloud resources, the research team investigates algorithms for scheduling quantum programs considering various types of quantum errors to improve quantum application fidelity without sacrificing other traditional scheduling metrics. The project also looks at the development of a quantum cloud simulator with both computing and network modules. The simulator is an integral part of QCloud, providing a means to evaluate various components of Qcloud. Furthermore, the research team provides students with hands-on experience in building and running quantum programs with the developed simulator. The proposed research activities are built on PIs’ prior work in quantum cloud, quantum networks, and traditional cloud and edge resource management. If successful, the research can contribute to the evolution of the quantum cloud, provide a more diverse community with easier access to quantum resources, and build the quantum presence at the PI’s institute. This award was jointly funded by the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Office of Strategic Initiatives; and the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Division of Computing and Communication Foundations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.