February 2004
Making a quantum leap in information processingEPSRC Press Release/ Invitation for journalistsA major UK initiative in the revolutionary field of quantum information processing is being launched at London's Science Museum today (Thursday 26th February).
The Quantum Information Processing Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (QIP IRC) aims to promote leading-edge research to put the UK at the forefront of the global drive to develop this technology, which will open up radically new ways of processing information. It could also have a profound impact on fundamental science.
Using the laws of quantum physics, and harnessing maths, computer science, materials engineering and other disciplines, quantum information processing could offer an alternative way of handling information. It could be used in fields as diverse as computing, telecommunications and defence. The technology, which is still in its infancy, involves the manipulation and communication of qubits (the units of information for quantum computing).
The QIP IRC has been established to lead UK activity in this radical technology. Over the next 5 years, it will receive �10M from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and �0.5M from the Ministry of Defence. It will use this funding to undertake interdisciplinary, collaborative research to develop UK skills in this area and bring academia and industry together.
The launch of the QIP IRC will provide an opportunity to learn about the initiative and its aims as the research phase begins. The Director of the QIP IRC, Andrew Briggs, Professor of Nanomaterials at the University of Oxford and an EPSRC Professorial Fellow, will be available at the launch to answer questions about the initiative.
Professor Briggs says: "Key seminal ideas in quantum information originated in the UK. The IRC offers a new opportunity to build on this expertise, by bringing together leading scientists from several universities in a critical mass of co-ordinated research in QIP, in collaboration with national and multinational industries".
Notes for Editors
The launch of the QIP IRC will commence at 7.00pm on 26th February 2004. In addition to those participants listed above, the event will be attended by leading academics and potential users of QIP technology in industry and elsewhere. Refreshments will be provided.
To attend the launch, please reply to this e-mail, providing the following details:
Name:
Organisation:
Contact e-mail:
Contact telephone number:
Would you like to interview Professor Andrew Briggs at the launch? Yes/No
Please note: the launch event will not include a formal press briefing
Venue information: The Science Museum is located on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London. Please enter via the North entrance on Exhibition Road. The nearest tube station is South Kensington, which is a short walk from the museum. See the Science Museum website for more information: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitors/location.asp
Nine organisations are collaborating in the initiative: University of Oxford; University of Wales, Bangor; Bristol University; University of Cambridge; University of Hertfordshire; Imperial College, London; University of Sheffield; University College London; York University.
Professor Andrew Briggs says: "We had an excellent start-up meeting in January, at which exciting new ideas were presented and the research programme was refined. The research in the IRC promises to open up new ways of understanding and controlling the conversion of quantum information from one form to another."
For more information on the QIP IRC, visit the website at http://www.qipirc.org
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. The EPSRC invests more than �500 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC also actively promotes public awareness of science and engineering. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. Website address for more information on EPSRC: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/
For more information, contact:
Professor Andrew Briggs, tel: 01865-273725, e-mail: [email protected]
Jane Reck, EPSRC Press Officer,Tel: 01793-444312, e-mail: [email protected]
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