2024-03-01

(Provided by Department of Physics) The Conference on Quantum Information Processing (QIP) is the foremost flagship conference in global quantum information research, representing the largest and most influential academic gathering in this field. Since its inaugural event in 1998, held in Aarhus, Denmark, the conference has covered a wide range of topics, including quantum computer devices, quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum cryptography, quantum communication, quantum machine learning, and next-generation information technologies. The purpose of the conference is to bring together the world's top scholars in the quantum information community to present and discuss cutting-edge and pioneering research in this field. With a history spanning two decades, the conference has been organized by leading academic institutions worldwide, including the eighth edition hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the thirteenth edition organized by ETH Zürich, the sixteenth edition organized by Tsinghua University in Beijing, and the twenty-fifth edition in 2022 hosted by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

At a time when global quantum technology is flourishing, to facilitate international academic and technological exchange and enhance Taiwan's visibility in quantum information technology and industry, the Conference on Quantum Information Processing (QIP) is being organized under the leadership of Dr. Hsieh Min-Hsiu, Director of the Quantum Computing Research Institute at the Hon Hai (Foxconn) Research Institute. Dr. Hsieh serves as the Chairman of the conference, and he is joined by Assistant Professor Cheng Hao-Chung of National Taiwan University (Co-Chair), as well as Professor Goan Hsi-Sheng, Assistant Professor Chiu Kuei-Lin from National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU), Assistant Professor Lin Han-Hsuan from National Tsinghua University, Professor Liang Yeong-Cherng from National Cheng Kung University, Professor Lai Ching-Yi from Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Dr. Chung Kai-Min from Academia Sinica, and Professor Chang Ching-Ray from Chung Yuan Christian University, to form Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for this event. Among the co-organizers, Chiu Kuei-Lin, Cheng Hao-Chung, Chang Ching-Ray, and Liang Yeong-Cherng also serve as consultants in Hon Hai. It is the first time Taiwan has hosted such a conference. Since the beginning of 2023, the Taiwan LOC team has been actively preparing for the conference. In particular, Chiu Kuei-Lin has been responsible for seeking and negotiating corporate sponsors for the conference, arranging sponsorship matters, and hosting the Industry Session for quantum computing companies.

The conference was inaugurated with speeches by Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-An and Deputy Minister Lin Minn-Tsong of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), marking the beginning of a compact 7-day schedule. In addition to over 700 participants, including researchers from both domestic and international institutions, the event drew the participation of world-renowned technology giants and leading companies in quantum computing, such as Google, IBM, Amazon, and JP Morgan, who delivered academic conference presentations. Chiu Kuei-Lin from the NSYSU presided over the Industry Session, which featured presentations from corporate sponsors. Among the attendees were notable companies, including Google, IBM Quantum, Amazon Science, and JPMorgan Chase from the United States, BTQ from Canada, Phasecraft and Riverlane from the United Kingdom, and Quantum Machine and Classiq from Israel, totaling 10 companies.

During the industry session, Google Quantum AI mentioned sponsoring a $5 million competition for XPRIZE, lasting for a period of 3 years, with the aim of promoting the development of quantum algorithms and expecting to have a substantial impact on real-life applications. BTQ introduced a novel boson sampling scheme for blockchain consensus, offering acceleration in energy efficiency and sampling rate compared to classical solutions. IBM, as a company concurrently developing quantum hardware and software, mentioned integrating their industry-leading hardware and software through providing cloud services to various clients, collectively advancing towards the era of Quantum Utility. Quantum Machine and Phasecraft are quantum hardware and software development companies, respectively. Quantum Machine presented their microwave control system for manipulating quantum processors, while Phasecraft presented their progress in a series of quantum material simulations conducted on existing cloud-based quantum computers. Other participating companies similarly introduced their products related to quantum algorithm development, finance, and cloud services.

In the process of contacting sponsors, Professor Chiu Kuei-Lin was particularly impressed by the determination and attitude shown by the Israeli company. This included proactively reaching out to the conference to offer their promotional package at their own expense and promoting their independent review of paper poster awards. These actions demonstrated the technological strength and innovative culture of the country, providing valuable insights for Taiwan to learn from.

【Appendix】
QIP official website: https://qip2024.tw/site/page.aspx?pid=901&sid=1522&lang=en

(Edited by Public Affairs Division)