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Project Details

Partner: Coastal Carolina University
Location: Conway, SC
Research Areas: Quantum Education (QIS)
Sectors: Academic

"There has not been time to develop a full-blown quantum information class until I received support from SC Quantum. I'm now developing a course, "Introduction to Quantum Information," geared for students across disciplines."

– Nicholas Harmon, Coastal Carolina University


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A 2024 study found that one-third of 1,456 U.S. colleges offered no QIS courses, with most offerings concentrated at R1 institutions and lacking at rural and minority-serving colleges.. Source: Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010131 (2024)

Student and instructor working on a laptop overlaid with quantum circuit diagrams and algorithms, on a background of Coastal Carolina University building with the university's logo.

To make South Carolina competitive in quantum-related development and industry, a critical mass of the state's college-educated population must understand quantum information science (QIS) fundamentals. While the University of South Carolina (USC) and Clemson—the state's two largest research institutions—currently lead QIS research and education, more than half of South Carolina's college students attend other institutions across the state. For QIS education to succeed in South Carolina, we must expand its reach beyond USC and Clemson. This project expands an existing 1-credit QIS class into a 3-credit course at Coastal Carolina University. Though designed for physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science majors, the course's minimal prerequisites makes it accessible to a broader student population.

Through partnership with SC Quantum, we are bringing quantum information to students at Coastal Carolina University. While 'quantum' often evokes physics, we're expanding into computer science, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, and other disciplines under the quantum umbrella—because the challenges of quantum technology are interdisciplinary. Our 'Introduction to Quantum Information' course offers students their first deep look at quantum computing, cryptography, and sensing, without requiring the traditional physics and mathematics prerequisites.

 

Curriculum

The following concepts will be covered during the class:

  • Introduction to light polarization and polarization filters

  • Single photon polarization

  • Mathematical apparatus developed to understand photon polarization measurements

  • Introduction to qubits and quantum measurement basics, Qiskit

  • Quantum cryptography and BB84 protocol (6) entanglement and Bell’s inequality (7) Classical logic, gates, circuits

  • Quantum circuits, no-cloning, quantum teleportation, superdense coding (9) Deutsch’s algorithm

  • Introduction to advanced algorithms

  • Quantum sensing, density matrices and the Liouville equation

  • Societal implications of quantum tech


Impact Plan

The objective of the proposed work is to provide quantum-related education to undergraduate students. 

Long-term impacts of this work fall into the categories:

  1. South Carolinians (students, faculty, business owners, managers, and employees) with basic knowledge of QIS will be in a position to understand QIS-related issues (such as national security, economic security, public funding, ethics, etc.) and how it impacts them.

  2. Sparking interest within students of various disciplines to pursue further education in QIS at the undergraduate or graduate levels which thus generates a quantum-educated workforce pool for quantum-based industries within the state; ideally some students may take leading roles in bring such industries to South Carolina.

  3. Sharing of pedagogy and resources with other like-minded academics and stakeholders within the state.

     

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