neon cube in Kim lab

Quantum Computing

With $80+ million in funding from IARPA, ARO, NSF and DOE to date, Duke ECE’s internationally recognized quantum computing team—part of the Duke Quantum Center—is replacing the bits of traditional computers with trapped ion qubits, which exist in multiple states at once. These powerful new systems have the potential to perform multitudes of computations in quantum superposition, enabling algorithmic shortcuts for blazing-fast computation. The future holds promise for applications in cybersecurity, AI, and modeling complex biological, chemical, pharmacological, environmental and financial systems.

Eric Pretzsch works on a quantum computer setup in the Brown Lab

Research areas

  • Quantum error correction
  • Quantum control
  • Quantum computer architecture
  • Ion trapping
  • Spectroscopy of sympathetically cooled molecular ions
  • Quantum information
  • Novel photonic devices
  • Quantum thermodynamics
  • Quantum resource theory

Centers and Consortiums

Good to Know

stack of coins illustration

Spinoff IonQ has raised $77M in investor funding to date and has built two of the most accurate quantum computers in existence

Robert Calderbank

Robert Calderbank was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Purple lines converging on either side on top of a row of columns and blocks

Duke University and IonQ Develop New Quantum Computing Gate

New family of N-qubit gates can only be run on IonQ quantum computer architecture

Debnath array

Glimpses of Quantum Computing Phase Changes Show Researchers the Tipping Point

Tuning a quantum computer’s measurement rate provides hints of quantum phase transition

Primary Faculty

Brown

Kenneth R Brown

Michael J. Fitzpatrick Distinguished Professor of Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum error correction, quantum control, quantum computer architecture, ion trap quantum computing, and the spectroscopy of sympathetically cooled molecular ions

Calderbank

Robert Calderbank

Charles S. Sydnor Distinguished Professor of Computer Science

Kim

Jungsang Kim

Schiciano Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum Computing with Trapped Ions, Quantum Information Science, Novel Photonic Devices, Application of Quantum Computers

Marvian

Iman Marvian

Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum information and computation theory

Monroe

Christopher R Monroe

Gilhuly Family Presidential Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: quantum physics, applications in quantum information science

Noel

Crystal Noel

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Quantum computing and simulation with trapped ions, integrated photonics for scalable trapped ion systems, and electric-field noise from surfaces

Pfister

Henry Pfister

Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Information theory, communications, probabilistic graphical models, machine learning, and deep neural networks