Second call for Quantum Computing projects

In order to pursue its objectives of research and dissemination, QCSC has decided to issue a call which is based on the QC resources available by means of the CINECA partnership and the Tensor-Network based QCSC simulator to be beta tested.

QCSC is looking for proposals seeking access to the Quantum Computing (QC) facility made available by CINECA. In particular, the QC system will be a D-Wave machine (Quantum annealer) for a configuration of up to 5000 Qbit. Access to PASQAL resources (quantum simulation approach) and access time to QC emulators running on the digital supercomputer system Leonardo, will be available as well to start working on circuit model quantum computation.

Any area of application of Quantum Computing will be considered. The call is reserved to faculty or staff of institutions involved in the QCSC consortium. The proposal should involve at least two presenters and at least one institution. An applicant can participate in at most one proposal. Proposals should include a clear statement of the needed resources, and whether they are meant for exploratory work or for production. Each project cannot exceed one quarter of the total computing resources available. The deadline for submissions is September, 30th. An infoday will be organized and held online in the forst week of September.

Project proposal shall be prepared following template. Projects should be submitted by using the enclosed format in a pdf file to the following email address: quantumcomputing@dfa.unipd.it

Periodic calls will be open every six months and announced via the QCSC website. A continuously updated list of resources will be available on the QCSC website.

The selection of the proposals will be performed by the QCSC management board based on a scientific and technical review.

The projects could be evaluated by reviewers nominated by the selection committee. The committee can also seek advice from external experts and additional reviewers to assess the technical feasibility of the project. Based on the reviewer reports, the selection committee will eventually rank the projects according to the criteria listed below. The projects, which are within the computing time budget limit, will be granted access to the resources through CINECA.

The selection process will be completed by the end of October 2023. The computing part of the projects should be concluded within September 3Oth 2024. The reference person of the granted projects will have to present by October 31st 2024 a written report about the results of the project. If a preprint or a publication directly related to the results obtained from computations are available, they can be presented instead of the report.

The authors of the publication are required to acknowledge the usage of the computational resources inserting the sentence “We acknowledge the quantum computing resources provided by the Padua Quantum Computing and Simulation Center and CINECA”.

• General research track of the proponents and potential to perform the proposed research. While a proven expertise in quantum computing is welcome, one of the purposes of QCSC is to support individuals that plan to open new research and application lines in the direction of quantum science and technology. In that case, the scientific credibility of the applicant’s intention to move into the new field will be a criterion of evaluation;
• Excellence of the project in terms of scientific merit and/or perspective according to international standards. QCSC seeks to fund projects that go beyond the state of the art and have the potential of opening new perspectives in research, for further collaborative projects;
• A part of the resources will be dedicated to exploratory and educational proposals will be judged only based on their potential and educational impact;
• The feasibility of the proposed research, given the limited available resources, will also be considered. Potential of the project towards the establishment of successful and sustainable new research activities within the QCSC. Therefore, the actual strength of the synergy will be a criterion for evaluation.

For the QSCS Management Board
Prof. Simone Montangero