The world’s first IBM quantum computer on a university campus is now operational. The occasion was officially celebrated at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy Friday.
RPI President Marty Schmidt, joined by officials from IBM, cut the red rid ribbon on IBM Quantum System One.
“We're here in the Voorhees Computer Center, which is a chapel that was built in 1933 for the Sisters of St. Joseph. It has been our home for computing at RPI since the 1970s. And behind us is the beautiful new quantum computer, which is right now fully operational,” said Schmidt.
Planning for the supercomputer, with its chandelier-like cooling system visible behind 10-foot-tall glass panels, began in June of 2023. The officials are hoping to establish New York’s Capital Region as a global hub for the next generation of computing. Again, President Schmidt.
“I think this is not only a great day for RPI, but frankly, it's a great day for the region. And so delighted to think about what the impact of this transformative technology is going to have, both for our university, for the region, and for all the students that are going to learn how to use quantum computing, and for the economic potential that this brings to the Capital Region and beyond,” said Schmidt.
Jay Gambetta, Vice President of Quantum Computing at IBM, said with the supercomputer now built, installed, and accessible to students and faculty, Quantum System One will allow users to unlock its potential.
“So now, once you go beyond utility, you need to discover those algorithms, those applications, and then eventually connect them to industry-use cases. And so, from my perspective, getting the students, getting the algorithm study going, getting the software, getting all the stuff that is going to take it from a scientific tool, into creating how these industry cases will be, is what's fundamental. And that's starting right now,” said Gambetta.
I asked Gambetta how much faster this quantum computer is than “classical” computing methods. But that’s the wrong question.
He says you have to think of quantum not in terms of speed, but in terms of using a “new math.”
“It's a math that you can do that the classical way of doing it would be impossible to do. So, it's a branching, it's a new math that you're adding to your equation. So, if you think speed-up, you're limiting yourself. You've got to think of how can I use a math that would have taken me infinite time to do classical – the end-time of the universe or whatever you want – how do I use that? And that is the real question, is exploiting this new type of math. It's not like new math, like Einstein and them developed in the 20s, but it's now getting scaled. How do you use it?” said Gambetta.
Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko of the 20th district was on hand to celebrate the day’s announcement.
Tonko is ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Materials. He joins President Schmidt in welcoming the supercomputer, saying it cements upstate New York as a national hub for tech innovation. Tonko is among public officials who want to establish a National Semiconductor Technology Center in the Albany area, funded by 2022’s federal CHIPS and Science Act.
“We've got R&D, we've got workforce development, and we've got manufacturing. So, we've been landing a lot of federal dollars into the manufacturing base here – semiconductor, microelectronics, high-tech. All of that is like a golden opportunity for us to now suggest and demand almost that the center be here,” said Tonko.
RPI is not the only local university to embrace advanced IBM technology. Recently, the University at Albany installed the first university-based IBM Artificial Intelligence Unit.
UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez joined officials at RPI for the Quantum System One celebration, marking a new era of cooperation between the public and private institutions. Researchers at both schools are able to further their work at either installation.
“We’re very enthusiastic about the partnership and the outcomes that will impact not only the Capital Region, the state, and nationally and globally, because these are initiatives with global impacts,” said Rodríguez.
At the core of the effort are the students and faculty who will become pioneering quantum researchers. RPI junior Nick Grablevsky is co-president of the Quantum Computing club at RPI.
“Any code that they come up with that is quantum, that is written in Qiskit, they can just run it on this computer, with like very little overhead needed. I think it'll be pretty easy for people to do that. And it just means that anybody can come up with a project and can try and like shape the future of quantum almost. And I think it’s a pretty big deal for all the students,” said Grablevsky.
