Building a Quantum Engineering Undergraduate Program

Authors

• Abraham Asfaw, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
• Alexandre Blais, Université de Sherbrooke
• Kenneth R. Brown, Duke University
• Jonathan Candelaria, Stanford University
• Christopher Cantwell, University of Southern California
• Lincoln D. Carr, Colorado School of Mines
• Joshua Combes, University of Colorado Boulder
• Dripto M. Debroy, Duke University
• John M. Donohue, University of Waterloo
• Sophia E. Economou, Virginia Tech
• Emily Edwards, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Michael F. J. Fox, University of Colorado Boulder
• Steven M. Girvin, Yale University
• Alan Ho, Google Research
• Hilary M. Hurst, San Jose State UniversityFollow
• Zubin Jacob, Purdue University
• Blake R. Johnson, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
• Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, The Ohio State University
• Robert Joynt, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Eliot Kapit, Colorado School of Mines
• Judith Klein-Seetharaman, Colorado School of Mines
• Martin Laforest, ISARA Corporation
• H. J. Lewandowski, University of Colorado Boulder
• Theresa W. Lynn, Harvey Mudd College
• Corey Rae H. McRae, University of Colorado Boulder
• Celia Merzbacher, SRI International
• Spyridon Michalakis, California Institute of Technology
• Prineha Narang, Harvard University
• William D. Oliver, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Jens Palsberg, University of California at Los Angeles
• David P. Pappas, National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Michael G. Raymer, University of Oregon
• David J. Reilly, The University of Sydney
• Mark Saffman, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Thomas A. Searles, Howard University
• Jeffrey H. Shapiro, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Chandralekha Singh, University of Pittsburgh

Publication Date

2-4-2022

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

IEEE Transactions on Education

DOI

10.1109/TE.2022.3144943

Abstract

Contribution: A roadmap is provided for building a quantum engineering education program to satisfy U.S. national and international workforce needs.

Background: The rapidly growing quantum information science and engineering (QISE) industry will require both quantum-aware and quantum-proficient engineers at the bachelor's level.

Research Question: What is the best way to provide a flexible framework that can be tailored for the full academic ecosystem?

Methodology: A workshop of 480 QISE researchers from across academia, government, industry, and national laboratories was convened to draw on best practices; representative authors developed this roadmap.

Findings: 1) For quantum-aware engineers, design of a first quantum engineering course, accessible to all STEM students, is described; 2) for the education and training of quantum-proficient engineers, both a quantum engineering minor accessible to all STEM majors, and a quantum track directly integrated into individual engineering majors are detailed, requiring only three to four newly developed courses complementing existing STEM classes; 3) a conceptual QISE course for implementation at any postsecondary institution, including community colleges and military schools, is delineated; 4) QISE presents extraordinary opportunities to work toward rectifying issues of inclusivity and equity that continue to be pervasive within engineering. A plan to do so is presented, as well as how quantum engineering education offers an excellent set of education research opportunities; and 5) a hands-on training plan on quantum hardware is outlined, a key component of any quantum engineering program, with a variety of technologies, including optics, atoms and ions, cryogenic and solid-state technologies, nanofabrication, and control and readout electronics.

Keywords

Quantum engineering, quantum information science (QIS), undergraduate education

Comments

This is the Version of Record and can also be read online here.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Physics and Astronomy

Recommended Citation

Abraham Asfaw, Alexandre Blais, Kenneth R. Brown, Jonathan Candelaria, Christopher Cantwell, Lincoln D. Carr, Joshua Combes, Dripto M. Debroy, John M. Donohue, Sophia E. Economou, Emily Edwards, Michael F. J. Fox, Steven M. Girvin, Alan Ho, Hilary M. Hurst, Zubin Jacob, Blake R. Johnson, Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, Robert Joynt, Eliot Kapit, Judith Klein-Seetharaman, Martin Laforest, H. J. Lewandowski, Theresa W. Lynn, Corey Rae H. McRae, Celia Merzbacher, Spyridon Michalakis, Prineha Narang, William D. Oliver, Jens Palsberg, David P. Pappas, Michael G. Raymer, David J. Reilly, Mark Saffman, Thomas A. Searles, Jeffrey H. Shapiro, and Chandralekha Singh. "Building a Quantum Engineering Undergraduate Program" IEEE Transactions on Education (2022). https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2022.3144943