The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) said it had been authorized to award doctorates in quantum science and technology, the country’s first doctoral program in this field.

The move is expected to promote the development of quantum science and technology disciplines and increase the quality and quantity of innovators in this frontier sector, said the USTC in Hefei, capital of east China’s Anhui Province.

Quantum science and technology has developed by leaps and bounds in recent years and has become one of the new frontiers in science and technology and industrial transformation.

The USTC has carried out studies on quantum information science since the early 1990s and has established relevant research centers, offering supports for the cultivation of talents.

In recent years, China has achieved a series of breakthroughs in quantum technology, including the world’s first quantum satellite, a 2,000-km quantum communication line between Beijing and Shanghai, and the world’s first optical quantum computing machine prototype.

Hefei, a hub for China’s quantum technology, is home to over 20 quantum technology enterprises and achieved an output value of some 430 million yuan (about $67.3 million) in 2020. quantum mechanics, science dealing with the behaviour of matter and light on the atomic and subatomic scale. It attempts to describe and account for the properties of molecules and atoms and their constituents—electrons, protons, neutrons, and other more esoteric particles such as quarks and gluons. These scientists may be involved in a variety of projects but often focus on a specific goal. Davide focuses on finding new ways of applying quantum theory to improve how computers solve optimization problems—that is, problems for finding the best of all possible solutions. Digital computers, which are most common today, process information using variables with 1 value (either 0 or 1) at a time. Quantum computers can use both values simultaneously, which results in faster processing. “We know that quantum computers are more powerful than digital computers,” he says, “but we don’t know by how much yet.”

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency