Two UCLA professors co-lead national efforts to reimagine quantum computers

In popular culture, quantum mechanics has become a catch-all explanation for anything scientifically impossible. From time travel and body shrinking to human teleportation and parallel universes, the concept often serves as a plot device in video games, comic books and Marvel blockbusters. But for these two UCLA computer scientists, quantum computing is far from science fiction.

Professors Jason Cong and Jens Palsberg at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering will help lead national efforts to advance quantum technologies. Backed by five-year grants of $37.5 million each from the National Science Foundation, Cong and Palsberg will tackle some of the most daunting questions in their field as co-principal investigators of two of the eight NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes.

“Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems that are out of reach for today’s computers, but we still have a lot of work to do to get there,” Palsberg said.

The institutes received over $290 million in new funding as part of the NSF’s large-scale initiative to advance scientific exploration in quantum science. By addressing critical barriers between quantum systems and practical computing, these interdisciplinary research institutes aim to engineer solutions that could bring positive change to everyday lives – and Cong and Palsberg are at the forefront of these endeavors.

Cong, a distinguished professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering, holds the Volgenau Chair for Engineering Excellence and directs UCLA’s Center for Domain-Specific Computing. He will serve as a co-principal investigator of the Institute for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Systems, Architectures and Applications. In this role, Cong will work on developing software, algorithms and AI-based tools that improve the reliability and efficiency of quantum systems. The newly established institute will advance fault-tolerant quantum computing, which is critical to solving complex scientific and technological problems amid the errors and noise that limit current systems.

Palsberg will lead the UCLA team as the co-principal investigator of the Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation. Renewed with another five-year, $37.5 million grant, this institute works to expand the capabilities of computing systems, technology and applications by developing a better understanding of quantum information processing. Palsberg, who also serves as co-director of UCLA’s Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, will focus on overcoming bottlenecks in trapped-ion quantum computing platforms and building a universal software stack that can compare quantum technologies and help identify new applications.

With support from the NSF, these research efforts will help accelerate U.S. advancements in quantum technology and its practical applications. Scientists hope that quantum systems will solve previously unsolvable problems – from medical discoveries to physics and cosmology. Although time travel may still be out of reach, Cong and Palsberg will explore how quantum computing can drive scientific progress and make a difference in everyday life.