Southwest Quantum Technologies Group (SWQT)
University of Bath: Peter Mosley
University of Bristol: Peter Turner
Cardiff University: Wolfgang Langbein
University of Exeter: Janet Anders (PI)
Background
The UK and the EU have both identified the development of quantum technologies as a key challenge for the scientific community to solve in the next 10-20 years. Quantum technologies promise vastly improved performance over their classical counterparts, in diverse areas such as communication, cryptography, simulation, metrology, and computation. Realising this vision is a manifestly interdisciplinary endeavour, requiring expertise in physics, mathematics, computer science, and engineering, as well as a growing need for input from fields where applications are expected, such as chemistry and biology.
The UK government is currently investing £270M to enable the rapid advancement of quantum technologies in the near future in the UK. This funding takes the form of 3 approved UK Quantum Technologies CDTs (at Imperial, UCL and Bristol) and is expected to be invested in at least 5 major Quantum Hubs with a funding of more than £20M each. At the time of application, Bristol was competing with UCL, Imperial, Birmingham, Oxford, Glasgow and other UK institutions to receive one of these Hubs, supported by the GW4 and other partners.
Project summary
The Initiator funds were used to establish a united, nationally and internationally competitive, quantum technologies research community in the Southwest, starting cross-institutional research collaborations across the GW4. They organised two meetings bringing together academics, national and local industry representatives and representatives from funding bodies. The community were recognised as a member of the UK Quantum Technology community. In 2015, the community received Accelerator funding to continue the collaboration: South West Quantum Dot Quantum Technologies Project
