Where do quantum jobs require a PhD? New report from CQE

This is a preview issue of Quantum Campus, sharing the latest in quantum science and technology from university campuses. We publish every Friday and are always looking for news from researchers across the country. Want to see your work featured? Submit your ideas to the editor.

Analysis of open quantum jobs

Less than half of all quantum technology jobs require a graduate degree, according to a recent analysis from CQE. The study also showed that only one-third of quantum-related jobs in industry require a graduate degree and that 80 percent of academic quantum jobs require a PhD.

To establish these numbers, the team built a database of more than 5,000 quantum jobs posted by the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) and the Quantum Computing Report, a website devoted to the quantum technology industry. Their findings aligned with a smaller 2022 study published by IEEE.

“There is something for anyone who is interested in getting in on the ground floor of this ‘industry of the future,’” Celia Merzbacher, said in the announcement. Merzbacher is the executive director of QED-C, a consortium managed by SRI International. “QED-C members, including corporations, universities, and national labs, have difficulty finding qualified workers at all levels.”

Read more in the CQE announcement.

Quantifying energy loss in qubits

University of Oklahoma researchers published a prediction of a new type of exciton in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The new topological exciton with finite vorticity is a Chern insulator that allows electrons to orbit the edge of a material but do not conduct any electricity internally.

“These topological excitons could be used to design a novel class of optical devices. At low temperatures, excitons could form a new type of neutral superfluid that could be used to create powerful polarized light emitters or advanced photonic devices for quantum computing,” according to the team, which was led by Bruno Uchoa.

Read more on the study in the University of Oklahoma announcement.

Duke launches 256-qubit quantum computer effort

With a $1 million grant from the NSF’s National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program, Duke researchers are designing a 256-qubit pilot system that they call the Quantum Advantage-Class Trapped Ion system. It builds on more than $30 million in previous NSF-funded work at Duke. After the first phase is complete, participants in the NQVL program will have the opportunity for future funding rounds focused on design and implementation.

Get the details in Duke’s announcement.

Three new DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers focus on quantum

DOE announced $118 million in funding for new EFRCs last week. Three centers focus on quantum research, including the Center for Molecular Quantum Transduction at Northwestern, the Energy Frontier Research Center for Quantum Sensing and Quantum Materials at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the Quantum Photonic Integrated Design Center at Purdue.

Find out more from HPC Wire.

Quickbits

• University of Cambridge team begins work on quantum algorithms that run in sublinear time

• National University of Singapore researchers simulate higher-order topological lattices

• George Mason physicist earns NSF CAREER grant to study complex quantum phases in graphene

This is a preview issue of Quantum Campus. We hope you’ll make the newsletter one of your weekly reads. Like it? Be sure to share with your colleagues. Not your thing? Unsubscribe at the bottom of the page.