QLab Partnership Expands Access to IBM Quantum Computers

The National Quantum Laboratory (QLab) has signed a new agreement that expands access to IBM's advanced quantum computers for the University of Maryland community, giving researchers, educators and students new opportunities for teaching, learning and discovery.

As a national quantum user facility, QLab provides researchers, educators and entrepreneurs with access to quantum computing resources. Through the new agreement, users can access IBM's cloud-based superconducting quantum processors, including the 156-qubit IBM Quantum Heron and the 120-qubit IBM Quantum Nighthawk systems, through the IBM Quantum Platform.

QLab will manage access for any UMD department or unit through the Division of Information Technology, using the same process already in place for software licenses and high-performance computing resources.

“We are excited to expand QLab's offering to the university and wider research community from trapped ion systems to other qubit modalities,” said Norbert Linke, director of QLab and a senior investigator in the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation (RQS). “IBM's processors give our users access to state-of-the-art superconducting circuit devices for the first time.”

The new capability is already supporting teaching and research across campus, including projects led by researchers affiliated with RQS.

In the Department of Computer Science, Xiaodi Wu, associate professor of computer science and an RQS senior investigator, is using the platform in a specialized quantum computing course, where students run their programs on IBM's quantum hardware and gain hands-on experience with commercial quantum systems.

Alexey Gorshkov, adjunct professor of physics and an RQS senior investigator, is leading a research project exploring phase transitions in mixed quantum systems, where only partial information about a quantum state is known.

“Access to the IBM devices will be crucial for our project exploring novel many-body mixed-state phases and their transitions,” said Yunxin Wang, Hartree Postdoctoral Fellow with the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS).

The agreement further strengthens UMD's leadership in quantum science and technology. The university is a key partner in Gov. Wes Moore's Capital of Quantum initiative and is home to more than 200 quantum scientists across multiple research centers, making it one of the world's largest concentrations of quantum expertise.

About QLab

The National Quantum Laboratory (QLab) is a user facility dedicated to accelerating quantum computing research, education and entrepreneurship by providing researchers, educators and industry partners with access to world-class quantum hardware and resources.