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Quantum Computing

ORNL researchers proposed a software architecture that would integrate emerging quantum computers with the world’s fastest supercomputing systems, such as ORNL’s exascale machine Frontier. Credit: Jason Smith/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of EnergyFeaturedScience

ORNL Study Plans Quantum-HPC Software Stack

A new study by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory traces a blueprint for a software architecture that would integrate emerging quantum computers with the world’s fastest supercomputing systems. Finding an effective approach to pair the two distinct computing platforms has become a prime focus for…
Matt Lakin
August 29, 2025
A group of people standing outside.FeaturedTechnology

ORNL Hosts Inaugural Quantum Systems & Software Workshop

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory hosted the first Oak Ridge Quantum Systems & Software Workshop (OQSSw) on July 25, bringing together 75 participants from national laboratories, academia and industry. ORNL organizers launched the workshop as the first step toward building a unified software stack for quantum-classical hybrid computing.…
Angela Gosnell
August 29, 2025
FeaturedTechnology

DOE’s Quantum Computing User Program releases Request for Information to Gather Input on Quantum Computing Access

The Department of Energy’s Quantum Computing User Program, or QCUP, at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, or OLCF, enables scientific discovery and technological innovation by providing a diverse community of scientific researchers access to quantum computing resources. This competitive merit-based access program partners with quantum computing vendors to provide…
Katie Bethea
November 15, 2024
neutrinosFeaturedScience

Untangling the Entangled

Researchers used quantum simulations to obtain new insights into the nature of neutrinos — the mysterious subatomic particles that abound throughout the universe — and their role in the deaths of massive stars. The study relied on support from the Quantum Computing User Program, or QCUP, and the Quantum Science Center, a national Quantum Information…
Matt Lakin
June 21, 2024
ScienceTechnology

Steering Toward Quantum Simulation at Scale

Researchers simulated a key quantum state at one of the largest scales reported, with support from the Quantum Computing User Program, or QCUP, at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The techniques used by the team could help develop quantum simulation capabilities for the next generation of quantum…
Matt Lakin
April 22, 2024
ORNL quantum workflowScienceTechnology

Shedding Light on Singlet Fission Materials

Using the full capabilities of the Quantinuum H1-1 quantum computer, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory not only demonstrated best practices for scientific computing on current quantum systems but also produced an intriguing scientific result. By modeling singlet fission — in which absorption of a single…
Coury Turczyn
July 28, 2023
IndustryScienceTechnology

Putting Quantum Circuits to the Test

Researchers used Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Quantum Computing User Program, or QCUP, to perform the first independent comparison test of leading quantum computers. The study surveyed 24 quantum processors and ranked results from each against performance numbers touted by such vendors as IBM, Rigetti and Quantinuum (formerly Honeywell). The research…
Matt Lakin
May 17, 2023
Abstract imageScienceTechnology

Spinning up Quantum Fidelity

Researchers reached new levels of accuracy in quantum simulations of spin defects using the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility’s Quantum Computing User Program, or QCUP, at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Their work offers a potential step toward greater precision and reliability in computations on quantum…
Matt Lakin
October 3, 2022
Science

Where Worlds Collide

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory physicists Christian Bauer, Marat Freytsis, and Benjamin Nachman have leveraged an IBM Q quantum computer through the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility’s (OLCF's) Quantum Computing User Program (QCUP) to capture part of a calculation of two protons colliding. The calculation can show the probability that an…
Rachel McDowell
April 13, 2022
ScienceTechnology

Firing Up Quantum Fidelity

Researchers used the Quantum Computing User Program (QCUP) at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to achieve major improvements in quantum fidelity, a potential step toward more accurate, reliable quantum networks and supercomputers. Quantum computing relies on transfer and storage of information via quantum bits,…
Matt Lakin
January 7, 2022
Visualization of an aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 particle with various components inside and outside the particle.Science

2021 at the OLCF: Year in Review

In 2021, supercomputing at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) enabled new scientific breakthroughs amid the global pandemic. From modeling small particles called quarks to simulating turbulence in fusion reactors, the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility's (OLCF's) flagship supercomputer, Summit, continued to provide unprecedented opportunities…
Rachel McDowell
December 30, 2021
Technology

A New Design for Quantum Computer–Monitored Electrical Grids

With support from the Quantum Computer User Program (QCUP) at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), researchers from Cornell University have developed a new quantum computer–based artificial intelligence (AI) system for identifying and diagnosing faults in electrical power grids. The framework promises much faster response times and smarter solutions…
Coury Turczyn
December 13, 2021
Science

Quantum computing enables simulations to unravel mysteries of magnetic materials

A multi-institutional team became the first to generate accurate results from materials science simulations on a quantum computer that can be verified with neutron scattering experiments and other practical techniques. Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Purdue University and D-Wave Systems…
Elizabeth Rosenthal
February 9, 2021