UQ welcomes quantum computer funding announcement

University of Queensland Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Paul Greenfield has welcomed today's announcement of a further $9 million Federal Government funding to the Special Research Centre for Quantum Computer Technology.

The Minister for Community, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, announced supplementary funding to the Centre, which is a world leader in research on the next generation of computers, using light atoms instead of silicon chips.

Research partners include:
- The University of Queensland
- the University of New South Wales and
- the University of Melbourne.

Professor Greenfield said $2million of the funding would go to the UQ node of the Centre headed by Professor Gerard Milburn, where a linear optics quantum computer laboratory is being developed, run by Dr Andrew White, together with a quantum dot laser laboratory run by Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop.

Professor Milburn and scientists from http://p23.lanl.gov/Quantum/quantum.html Los Alamos National Laboratory USA, recently made a breakthrough in a field called linear optics quantum computation, pushing Australia further ahead in the world-wide race to make quantum computation a reality. They also have expertise in a number of quantum computation technologies.

Professor Greenfield said the funding would further advance the ground-breaking work conducted by the Centre and was a recognition of the high quality of work in this blue-sky field.

"It shows how significant the work of the SRC will be to Australia's future advancement in computing leadership. This funding will help the Centre to remain internationally competitive," he said.

For more information contact Professor Gerard Milburn (telephone 3365 6931 or email milburn@physics.uq.edu.au)