Meet Dr Eleanor Crane

“The aim of my research is to theoretically lay the foundations of a new type of quantum computer. This computer would be geared towards the understanding of quantum processes in nature which we can't simulate with classical computers – such as helping the development of fusion reactors, understanding photosynthesis, finding more efficient fertilisers, building batteries with longer lifetimes and more.

“So far, quantum computers have qubits as their computational elements (short for quantum bit, the basic unit of information in quantum computing). However, nature is made up of two fundamental particle types: fermions (into which we classify electrons, leptons etc), and bosons (into which we classify photons, phonons etc). The new computer which I am developing with my theorist and experimentalist colleagues is one which has qubits but also fermions and bosons as additional computational elements, which I recently discussed at the Qiskit Seminar Series.

“To simulate an electron in an atom of the leaf of a tree absorbing a photon of light from the sun, causing a vibration of the atomic lattice called a phonon, we would no longer need to map it all out to qubits, but could directly map this to fermions and bosons interacting via quantum gates in our quantum computer.

“One of the things we have been focusing on in our work is showing how this will be a very efficient tool to speed up simulations of nature. Beyond showing the promise of these novel quantum computers, we work on a wide range of technologies, including instruction set architectures, error correction, algorithms and measurements, as well as collaborating with experiments on running proof of principle demonstrations.

“A common misconception about quantum computation is that it won't be useful for many years. With improvements in error-correction, algorithms and hardware in the past years, I think we are 5-10 years off creating useful simulations of natural systems (like modelling molecular interactions) and 10-15 years off devising quantum computers powerful enough to crack widely used encryption methods. That means that governments should move fast towards using quantum communication channels for improved security.

“I recently completed my postdoc at MIT and am a Fellow in at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School where I research and teach quantum policy for Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy."