The entrance to Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus campus. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Amazon Web Services announced on Monday the establishment of a joint quantum computing research agreement.

The agreement is the first of its kind between AWS and an Israeli academic institution, according to a statement from the university.

The AWS Center for Quantum Computing, created in 2019 and based at the campus of the California Institute of Technology, brings together quantum computing researchers and engineers for the purpose of accelerating development of relevant algorithms and hardware. Its activities include collaborating with universities for sponsored research in “cutting-edge domains,” according to the statement.

“The latest of these collaborations is funding a team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Quantum Information Science Center (QISC) and Racah Institute of Physics to advance the understanding of quantum gates—fundamental building blocks of quantum computers,” said the university.

Hebrew University professor and AWS principal research scientist Alex Retzker will lead the research group, and Yissum, the company in charge of commercializing new technology developed at the university, is coordinating the cooperation process.

The Hebrew University views the field of quantum information as “one of the key areas in the world of science and technology in the 21st century,” the statement added.

“We are at a unique moment in the history of science, when abstract theoretical ideas can progress quickly to become pragmatic technology accessible through on-demand cloud services, with potentially enormous impact on human society over time,” said Retzker.