Carnegie Corp awards funding for quantum project

Since its inception in 2015, Project Q has received $US1.2 million from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to lead world-first multidisciplinary research into the risks and benefits of quantum innovation. Now heading into its third phase, Project Q’s research is more important than ever.

"When we started Project Q the quantum revolution was generally thought to be decades away. Since then we’ve seen the pace of quantum innovation accelerate exponentially," said Professor James Der Derian, Director of the Centre for International Security Studies and Chief Investigator of Project Q. "Just this month news leaked that Google had achieved 'quantum supremacy' – meaning their quantum computer surpassed the world’s most powerful supercomputers on a particular task."

Over the past six years, Project Q has grown to become the world’s leading social sciences research project into quantum technology. Noting the novelty of the topic, as well as the traditional separation between the natural and social sciences, Professor Der Derian expressed appreciation for the foresight and support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a multidisciplinary investigation such as Project Q.

"One of the great achievements of Project Q is the amazing multinational network of academics, policymakers and industry experts we have brought together to inform our research," said Der Derian. "Over 220 people have participated in the project, sharing their experience and insights, and helping us make an incredibly complex issue accessible to a broad audience."

Project Q has made its research available to the general public through an extensive, open-source multimedia library of recorded interviews, lectures and panel discussions, featuring the biggest names in quantum physics and the social sciences.

"Our emphasis on multimedia sets Project Q apart from traditional research projects," Professor Der Derian said. "It means that when the grant comes to an end we will have produced not only research articles, but an interactive e-book and a feature length documentary about the quantum race."

As the third and final phase of Project Q gets underway, the project is going global. "Building on our networks within the University of Sydney, including the Sydney Nanoscience Institute and the new Sydney Quantum Academy, we are now expanding and taking Project Q on the road. We’re planning a series of boot camps, workshops and conferences in the United States, Canada, the UK and eventually Armenia, whose President is a former theoretical physicist and advocate of what he calls 'quantum politics'."

Whether it’s in the field of technology, politics, or international relations the quantum future is coming faster than we thought – Project Q is preparing for this exciting new world.