IBM and the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.) announced an expansion of the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute. This includes deploying quantum-centric supercomputing to Illinois innovators through the integration of U. of I.’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Delta and DeltaAI supercomputers with IBM quantum computers.
Launched in 2021, the Discovery Accelerator Institute has 20 current, ongoing projects across hybrid cloud, AI, quantum computing, materials discovery, and sustainability, and its members have published more than 230 research papers.
Moving into this new phase, the Institute will build on its first five years of technological progress in AI systems and computational science to shape how quantum computing and AI will drive the next generation of supercomputing. These new initiatives will include the development of new algorithms that enable classical and quantum systems to work together on problems neither can solve alone; as well as the creation of novel AI systems designed for emerging AI workloads and the use of AI to accelerate the design of specialized computing systems.
“I’m pleased to see the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute building on years of progress and partnership with U. of I. as Illinois innovators pursue critical discoveries in quantum computing and AI,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Illinois’ world-class research institutions, unique industry collaborations, and unmatched research talent position our state at the forefront of global progress, and I look forward to seeing the countless advancements that this expansion will bring.”
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Advancing the next era of computing with systems, software, and algorithms
Quantum-centric supercomputing represents IBM’s vision for the future of computation, where quantum processors (QPUs) work alongside high-performance classical systems powered by CPUs and GPUs to solve complex problems in science and industry. As part of the Institute’s expansion, IBM and U. of I. researchers will collaborate on the development of quantum-centric workflow management tools to seamlessly integrate the most powerful IBM quantum computers on the cloud with NCSA Delta and DeltaAI supercomputers, creating an environment for ongoing quantum-centric supercomputing-powered research across academia, industry, and government in Illinois.
Institute members will explore how quantum-centric supercomputing architectures and novel algorithms can integrate the power of IBM quantum computers and NCSA HPC to solve classically hard problems and pursue near-term quantum advantage, as well as solutions for fundamental problems in chemistry, condensed-matter physics, and materials science.
In addition, over the next five years, the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute will push the frontiers in AI systems research by tackling challenges in the efficient, scalable, and adaptable distributed inference of next-generation AI workloads across diverse computing infrastructures. The Institute will also launch Algorithms-to-Silicon-to-Systems (AS2), a new research area to accelerate the integration and implementation of algorithms into silicon for specialized systems. AS2 will represent a shift toward a unified, AI-native design paradigm, where algorithms, silicon, and systems software are co-evolved, rather than developed in isolation. The results will be a step change in productivity, accessibility, and scalability to enable the rapid creation of complex, high-performance systems with strong guarantees of correctness, robustness, and real-world usability.
“IBM is thrilled to help provide quantum-centric supercomputing to Illinois researchers, alongside an expansion of the IBM-Illinois Discovery Accelerator Institute’s efforts in AI for systems design. As the brilliant minds within the Institute discover and test new algorithms, they will drive groundbreaking research to power the applications made possible by AI and quantum computing,” said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow.
SOURCE: IBM