Prof. Meurice has been awarded $2.3 million in federal funding to continue studying the foundational aspects of quantum computing in theoretical high-energy physics.

Meurice had previously been awarded $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science. The extra funding, over three years, will allow Meurice and other researchers to collaborate with experimentalists using cold atoms to perform quantum simulations of theoretical models.

Quantum computing is being developed in high-energy physics to better understand the physical interactions and processes at the sub-atomic level. The long-term goal of the theoretical effort is to study the step-by-step aftermath of proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, the sub-atomic particle smasher that has produced discoveries significantly improving humans’ understanding of the forces and interactions that govern the universe. 

Meurice is the principal investigator of an academic consortium that includes Boston University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, Syracuse University, University of Maryland-College Park, and the University of California-Santa Barbara.