Integrating Mathematical Scientists into Quantum Research

SIAM Quantum Intersections Convening

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) hosted a 3-day interactive workshop on October 7-9, 2024, bringing quantum-curious mathematical scientists together with leading experts in quantum science. This convening was designed to foster and increase the involvement and visibility of mathematicians and statisticians in quantum science research and education. Recognizing the critical role of mathematical scientists, this convening aimed to promote multidisciplinary collaborations that bridge the gap between mathematics and quantum sciences. Recommendations were made to the U.S. National Science Foundation and other federal research and development agencies.

Goals and Outcomes

The goals of the SIAM Quantum Intersections Convening were to:

  • make more mathematical scientists aware of the demand for their expertise in quantum research and articulate areas and problems where they can contribute,
  • increase the engagement of researchers in mathematical sciences in the quantum information science revolution to accelerate its research and development,
  • provide a seeding ground for partnerships and collaborations of mathematical scientists with physicists, computer scientists, and engineers from industry and academia, and
  • recommend activities to develop a quantum science and technology workforce pipeline in the mathematical and computational sciences.

Discussions highlighted several quantum science topics where mathematics is vital for research and discovery, including quantum computing, quantum algorithms, quantum optimization, quantum error correction, quantum information theory, quantum cryptography, quantum machine learning, quantum chemistry, quantum software, and quantum networks.

Recorded Presentations

15 invited speakers gave presentations on the various fields of quantum science. The talks provided compelling reasons why mathematicians are needed in the quantum space. There were about 30 recommendations that emerged from the SIAM Intersections Convening, which were sorted into the following groups, Education and Curriculum Development, Research and Development, Funding and Support, and Outreach and Public Collaboration.

Quantum Science Needs Mathematicians

Bert de Jong, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Quantum Intersections Convening Call to Action

Alex Pothen, Purdue University

Recorded Presentations

Steering Committee Members

Di Fang

Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Duke University

Lior Horesh

Senior Manager, Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science, IBM Research

David Hyde

Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Vanderbilt University

Jeffrey Larson

Computational Mathematician, Argonne National Laboratory

Bashir Mohammed

Senior Staff AI Architect, Intel Corporation

Giacomo Nannicini

Associate Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Southern California

Alex Pothen

Professor, Computer Science, Purdue University

Suzanne Weekes

Chief Executive Officer, SIAM

Participants & Steering Committee

Over 80 researchers and professionals from the range of disciplines and fields that contribute to and are involved in quantum information sciences research attended the convening. These researchers and professionals were from various career stages to ensure that a broad and diverse range of perspectives was gathered. Anonymized participant data can be found in the full report.

The steering and planning committee of this convening consisted of seven subject matter experts, the Principal Investigator, a liaison from Knowinnovation (KI) who guided the design and planning process, and a project manager from SIAM. For the workshop, KI provided a team of professionals who specialize in guiding and accelerating academic, scientific, and interdisciplinary innovation to facilitate the discussions and the generation of ideas.

This event was funded by the United States National Science Foundation under grant DMS 2425995.

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