Fellowship Projects Energize Quantum Engineering Research
A new program offers a competitively awarded, student-run innovation fellowship to support projects that help build the technical and social foundations for the future quantum internet. In 2021, a University of Arizona (UA) student was awarded a fellowship to develop a quantum version of the game of Tetris—a puzzle video game—to be played on the iOS and Android platforms as an app-based game. The fellowship, which provides up to a $5,000 stipend, was initiated and is supported by the NSF-funded Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) which is headquartered at UA.
CQN is dedicated to laying the foundations for a socially responsible quantum Internet that will spur new technology industries and a competitive marketplace of quantum service providers and application developers. CQN has synergistic research and educational missions, with special emphasis on preparing the quantum-trained engineering workforce of the 21st century. This fellowship is part of the CQN’s Engineering Workforce Development effort to advance innovation in education and workforce training across the quantum engineer lifecycle: precollege, undergraduate, graduate, and post-college. The adapted Tetris game takes advantage of the fact that games are a great way to teach something new. The version developed under this fellowship is geared to increasing understanding of quantum engineering, whether or not a player has a quantum mechanics background, by illustrating with progressively higher-scoring solutions the progressively resource-efficient functioning of a quantum circuit.
Quantum computing uses the properties of quantum physics to store data and perform computations. The quantum internet is a network that facilitates the transmission of information in the form of quantum bits, called qubits, between physically separated quantum processors. The quantum internet can potentially enable performance of certain tasks in a way that vastly outperforms even the best supercomputers of today.
This fellowship is part of CQN’s efforts to teach both technical competencies but also how to be adaptive, creative innovators in a globally connected world. The student fellows work with a faculty/faculty post-doctoral mentor during their project, and their final results are publicized and distributed by CQN to appropriate audiences.
