AFRL Formally Joins IBM Q Network, Opens Quantum Hub at Information Directorate in Rome, NY

(RomeSentinel) The Air Force Research Laboratory has formally joined the IBM Q network, “the first-ever partnership of its kind in the Department of Defense,” according to an announcement by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, headquarters for the overall AFRL. The AFRL Quantum Hub will be one of the initial technologies positioned in the Open Innovation Environment at the AFRL Information Directorate in Rome, NY.
“AFRL is pleased to partner with IBM to become a hub in the Q Network as IBM is a world leader in the development of quantum computing hardware,” said Dr. Michael Hayduk, Deputy Director of the AFRL Information Directorate/Rome Lab. He added the partnership “further establishes the Mohawk Valley region…as an emerging ecosystem for the development of quantum information science technology.”
The partnership will allow AFRL to work alongside IBM researchers and other select collaborators to investigate relevant Air Force problems on hardware that may yield a “quantum advantage” over conventional computing, the announcement said. Early applications include optimization problems, speed-up of machine learning algorithms and quantum chemistry simulation.