Proposal Competition

The WR-QIST workshop includes a proposal competition where participants can submit a proposal for a project that would aim to advance quantum information and technologies. After the competition is introduced on the first day, participants can submit their proposals through a Google Form distributed during the event. Below we have included an example of what a possible submission may look like by providing sample answers to the Google Form questions. Note that the project does not have to be focused on research activities, it can be related to outreach (as in the below example), networking, or supporting diversity in the QIST research community.

Project title:

Quantum Music: The Sound of True Randomness 

Please provide a brief description of the project activities (max. 200 words).

Aleatoric music is a type of music where some element of the composition or performance is left to chance. As quantum scientists, we consider the only source of true randomness to be a quantum mechanically assured quantum random number generator (QRNG). We want to collaborate with a MA student in composition at the University of York to create a piece of aleatoric music, both inspired by quantum mechanics and taking randomness from a QRNG device. The piece will be performed as part of the university concert series and we will write a publication proving the assured randomness of our composition and relating it back to its quantum mechanical inspirations. 

Please provide a rough budget outline for the project. Note that the total budget should not exceed £5k.

£3000 for making a suitable quantum random number generator.

£500 for recording the piece in a professional studio.

£500 for publications and advertisement of the piece/performance.

How would this project advance quantum information science and technologies?

The performance and publication of our piece will expose quantum physics to an audience that normally would not engage with it. It will explore the overlap between musical theory and quantum physics, providing an example of cross-disciplinary working. The composition can be retained for future outreach projects. There is potential for further projects on not just quantum random composition, but quantum random instruments.

Below we have added the submissions we received from the participants for the Proposal Competition.

1) Q-bs (Cubes) (Prize Winner)

Project activities:

The project aims to promote quantum computing (and by extension quantum technology) in schools/colleges. The aim would be for GCSE/A Level classes as well as potentially first year university.

The product would be an interactive, physical mimic of a quantum circuit. It would contain a physical board which acts as a circuit board. It would contain a set number of registers in which gates can be slotted into in any customisable order. The gates would be coloured blocks with the gate symbol on (roughly the size of Rubik's cube). So students can play around and physically build/design with this toy any quantum circuit (just like on Qiskit). The board would be electronic and contain a display panel or connect to a computer. There would be dedicated software to convert the physically constructed circuit into a Qiskit circuit and then the students could press a button on the board to run the circuit they have created on a genuine quantum processor via cloud connectivity.

Budget outline:

• Developing the dedicated conversion software - £2.5k

• Manufacturing the toy - £2k

• Paying for schools to have membership to the cloud - £500

How would this project advance quantum information science and technologies?

This would allow students to have a much easier, interactive and less intimidating entry into quantum mechanics, quantum tech etc. What this would do is massively increase the quantum work force in 10 years time. With more people interested in the area the field would naturally thrive.

2) Determine Best Outreach Efforts

Project activities:

It's a research project to determine which outreach efforts (eg mentoring, school visits, science fairs etc) work best to recruit quantum technology students from underrepresented backgrounds. It would be in collaboration with social sciences and find eg regions where a certain measure was introduced at a certain time and then sees whether that measure made a difference. It would also include questionnaires for current students from underrepresented groups to see how they came to the field and what their biggest roadblocks were.

Budget outline:

• Social science research incl. identifying regions, and comparing undergraduate quantum physics student admissions: 4k

• Questionnaire for current students: 0.5k

• Dissemination of findings at quantum technology conferences: 0.5k

How would this project advance quantum information science and technologies?

Recruit diverse talent more effectively.

3) Rubik Shuffler

Project activities:

Rubik cube shuffler.

Budget outline:

• Qrng. Creates shuffle algorithms for speedcubing competitions for true randomness.

• Outreach: Working with robotics lab with their already made Rubik cube solver to shuffle ready for the competitor.

How would this project advance quantum information science and technologies?

Get it into main stream media as speedcubing is fairly popular.

Also popular children’s toy, do slight link to helping children learn about quantum technology.