IIT Bombay, University of Chicago collaborate on quantum research, science, technology

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), headquartered at the University of Chicago, as an international partner starting a science and technology partnership in fields such as quantum information science, climate and energy, advanced microelectronics, artificial intelligence and data science.

The quantum announcement was highlighted during a meeting of prime minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in New Delhi today. It affirms the goals of the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), “to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries”, the institute said in a statement.

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IIT Bombay director, professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, said, “With a strong bond being built between India and US academia, as evident from the joint declaration by the top leaderships in both the countries, it is a great opportunity for IIT Bombay to work with University of Chicago on some of the most critical and evolving technologies our nations are facing today. Our collective strength will help bring forth impactful breakthrough innovations benefiting the society.”

Notably, IIT Bombay has joined CQE as one of only five worldwide academic partners. CQE, a hub for advancing the science and engineering of quantum information, is based at the Chicago university and is anchored by the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Northwestern University.

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IIT Bombay anchors the Quantum Information Computing Science & Technology (QuICST ) Hub, one of the leading centers for quantum research in India.

“Strong global partnerships provide the expertise and resources to advance breakthrough innovation and are an essential part of developing a robust quantum ecosystem. We are very excited to be engaged with IIT Bombay in such a significant way,” said David Awschalom, CQE directo, the Liew Family professor in Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, and senior scientist at Argonne.

In addition to quantum, UChicago and IIT Bombay will collaborate and conduct joint research in fields such as climate, energy, advanced microelectronics, artificial intelligence and data science. The institutes will host joint research activities, conferences, exchanges of information as well as faculty and scholar visits.