White Papers

White papers will be used to structure the discussion sessions on the second and third days of the workshop and will provide input to a report that will be submitted to ASCR after the workshop. In the event that the workshop is oversubscribed, white papers will also be used to determine the priority in which registrations will be accepted. Workshop participants are therefore strongly encouraged to submit white papers on the following topics:

A. Facility Best Practices and Co-Design

1. Facility Models DOE and the Office of Science currently sponsor a wide range of scientific facilities, each with their own unique culture and governance model that foster an experience that keeps users coming back many times. Given the importance of the facility user model, we invite white papers that provide a vision of how a testbed facility for quantum computing could be constructed, considering issues such as:

Construction, deployment, and user-access to a quantum computing testbed (based on existing qubit technology)
System and software architecture (programming interfaces, simulation and emulation capabilities, etc.)
Scaling with respect to number of qubits in each prototype computational device, and the number of prototype devices
Outreach activities to develop and foster a user community, including STEM education and public outreach in addition to outreach within the research community
Ensuring scientific excellence, e.g. advisory board structure, proposal mechanism

2. Workforce Development and Staffing Quantum Information Science has matured considerably over the last 20 years and now draws deeply from expertise in the physical sciences, computer science, engineering, and mathematics. The field is uniquely multi-disciplinary and it will require a diverse set of skills to both utilize and staff a quantum testbed facility. To encourage the strong interaction between the diverse skill sets needed to realize a quantum computer, we seek to understand the tradeoffs among existing staffing models. For example, staff at some facilities, including many of ASCR's computing facilities, are funded completely from operating costs. In other cases, facility staff are active researchers in fields that enable the user facility but are funded by a combination of user facility support and other funding that they are responsible for obtaining. As the quantum computing testbeds evolve from "experimental devices" to more robust computational instruments, the nature and type of staffing required may also change.

We invite whitepapers that provide a vision of how a small testbed facility for quantum computing could be staffed, considering issues such as:

Training opportunities, including the possibility of online classes
Career development
Ratio of operational and research staff
Possible funding models for research staff

3. Co-design for Quantum Testbeds In the area of computer design, co-design is usually thought of as a design process in which the scientific problem requirements influence computer architecture choices and the architecture constraints inform algorithm and software design. Co-design traditionally requires a tightly coupled collaboration of domain scientists, computer scientists, engineers, vendors, applied mathematicians, and engineers. ASCR has a history of successful co-design in the classical digital computing space in both DOE's Exascale Computing Initiative and now the Office of Science's Exascale Computing Project.

While the development of new qubit technologies from scratch is not in scope for this workshop, there is considerable scope for co-design activities for a quantum computing testbed, such as connectivity, fidelity of operation, and general hardware optimization of available qubit architectures. Similarly, algorithm developers have an algorithmic design space for each of their use cases that might be explored based on hardware tradeoffs.

We invite whitepapers that present a vision for a co-design process for a quantum testbed that may include:

Examples of lessons learned from previous ASCR-sponsored programs
Examples of successful government / industry / academic / national lab co-design efforts that may be unrelated to Exascale
How a co-design process for quantum computing might differ from co-design for classical computing based on the maturity of underlying technology, differences in the multidisciplinary collaboration required for success, etc.

B. Technical Considerations for a Quantum Testbed Facility We invite white papers discussing technical considerations that will be essential to the success of a quantum testbed facility in three specific areas:

1. Computing Model Capabilities The availability of a testbed is intended to nurture the development of quantum algorithms and simulations for scientific applications. What are the requirements for a testbed system capable of facilitating the analysis of existing quantum algorithms and the development of quantum algorithms for novel scientific applications? What computing model, size, performance, and qubit connectivity are of value for such a system? Can and should a system support both gate- and Hamiltonian- based computation? Which verification and validation protocols are available and to what extent are these able to predict the performance of quantum algorithms on a testbed system?

2. Interfaces Interfaces between a user and a small-scale quantum processor and interfaces within the processor itself are both currently at an early developmental stage, yet in many ways will define the capabilities and user experience at a quantum testbed facility. What are the necessary properties of a user interface and operating system to facilitate the efficient implementation of quantum algorithms? How can a compiler and optimizer adapt quantum algorithms to the strengths of disparate qubit implementations? What are the quantum control capabilities needed for calibration, verification and validation and to implement algorithms?

3. Implementation and Enabling Technology Connections between qubits as well as their physical surroundings and controls are as important as the qubits themselves for the utility of a quantum processor, especially as the number qubits in a device increases. Which technologies should be developed to enable the implementation of a testbed system – where are the current and anticipated gaps? What are promising approaches to scale systems with existing qubits and what are the known challenges to implementing these approaches? How can crosstalk be managed and reduced and the coherence of the system maintained when scaling to largest size? How can the extensibility of the system be ensured?

C. Industry Needs and Partnership Models Quantum information science is a rapidly growing scientific field that affords rich opportunities for development across a broad spectrum of basic science and engineering disciplines. In particular, there has been increased activity in the corporate sector over the past few years focusing on the development of fully integrated small-scale quantum processors, quantum subsystems, and specialized classical hardware. We invite white papers on the following topics that we anticipate discussing from different vantage points:

Current and future needs of industrial organizations for the commercialization of quantum technologies
The role of universities, government agencies, national labs, and federally funded research and development centers in stimulating industrial growth
Successful commercialization models of high impact technologies
The need for industry-wide standards for both quantum hardware and software

Scope

White papers should address the topics above as they relate to a small quantum testbed facility. White papers that provide focused discussion will be prioritized for acceptance over those providing only a general perspective. Topics that are out-of-scope for the workshop include discussions solely focused on theoretical foundations, research to develop new qubit technologies that have not yet been demonstrated, research on applications and algorithms beyond what might be implemented on hardware expected to be available in the next five years, and applications such as cryptanalysis that are clearly out of DOE's fundamental and applied sciences mission scope.

Requirements:

White papers should clearly explain the relevance of the contributors' views to the goals of the workshop. Individual authors may contribute no more than one single-author white paper in each of the topical areas listed above. Individuals may appear as authors on an unlimited number of multi-author white papers.

Each white paper should provide contact information (name, institution, email address) for a primary, corresponding author. Multi-author papers should also provide contact information for a secondary corresponding author.

White papers should be no more than 2 pages in length with a font size no smaller than 11 points. A third page containing figures and references may also be included.

Submission:

White papers should be submitted no later than January 5, 2017 11:59 PM ET.

Late white papers can be submitted until midnight February 7, 2017.

DOE lab employees interested in submitting a late white paper should coordinate with their lab POC.

Selection:

The breakout discussion sessions on the second and third days of the workshop will be organized around white paper submissions. Selected contributors will be notified by January 16, 2017. Participants will be expected to fund their own travel and accommodations for the workshop.

Summary:

Length and Format: Up to 2 pages of text, at least 11-point font. Figures and references may be included on a third page. PDF file format.
Due Date: 11:59 PM ET on January 5, 2017. Late white papers can be submitted until midnight February 7, 2017.
Notification of Selection: January 16, 2017