Dr Jonathan Pritchard, University of Strathclyde

Jonathan Pritchard is a Reader and RAEng Senior Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde leading development of new technologies for realising scalable quantum computers based on arrays of individually trapped neutral atoms. Quantum computing offers a radical new approach to solving a wide range of problems that are currently intractable using modern digital computers, but requires large number of high-quality, low noise and error-corrected qubits (two-level quantum systems on which information is encoded) in order to provide a practical advantage. Through leadership of SQuAre, an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership with M Squared Lasers, Dr. Pritchard’s team have developed the UK’s first scalable platform for neutral atom quantum computing, including developing new protocols for high fidelity multi-qubit gates and demonstrating single-qubit gate operations below the threshold for fault tolerance on arrays of up to 225 qubits. This work forms the underpinning technology for Maxwell, a commercial neutral atom platform developed by M Squared Lasers. Through his RAEng Senior Research Fellowship, Dr. Pritchard is exploring a new route to fault-tolerant quantum computing by developing a cryogenic dual-species platform for implementing quantum error correction. This approach can overcome the major barriers to scaling by addressing both the fundamental science and essential engineering challenges to achieve large-scale, fault-tolerant performance. This milestone is essential to unlock the full potential of quantum computing to address real world problems across a range of industries from material design and drug discovery to logistics and communications.