Conference: Bridging the gap between NISQ and FTQC

This award provides support for participants in the workshop "Bridging the gap between NISQ and FTQC", to be held February 17-20, 2026 at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, UCLA. Quantum computing is a rapidly developing fields that aims to utilize quantum effects to perform complex computations efficiently. Modern day quantum computers can manipulate thousands of qubits (quantum analogs of bits, the elementary units of data storage). Currently available quantum computers are noisy and errors occur during computation — this is the era of so-called “noisy intermediate-scale quantum” computers (NISQ). As noise suppression techniques and quantum error correction algorithms mature, we are entering the stage of so-called Fault Tolerant Quantum Computation (FTQC). The aim of the conference is to discuss this transition and plot a course towards useful quantum computation at scale. Increasingly sophisticated experimental demonstrations of the primitives associated FTQC have made it clear that the field is beginning to move out of the NISQ era first described by Preskill in 2018. The evident technical challenges of continuing to scale quantum computers are further complicated by the sometimes conflicting approaches associated with these two paradigms. Everything from software, to error suppression, to algorithm development, and prospective applications, seems to have distinct NISQ and FTQC perspectives. To continue towards the goal of utility-scale quantum computation, it will be essential to bridge this dichotomy. This workshop aims to understand the current state of the art in this period of transition and how to best prepare for early fault-tolerant quantum computers and beyond. Experts in a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to) quantum algorithms and applications, quantum architecture and error correction, and quantum hardware will be invited to contribute their perspective on the latest challenges facing the field. The worksop will focus particularly on the role that pure and applied mathematics can play in bridging the NISQ-FTQC gap, and better understanding when utility-scale quantum computation will be possible. More information on the workshop is available at https://www.ipam.ucla.edu/programs/workshops/bridging-the-gap-between-nisq-and-ftqc/ 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.