A team led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) professors Prashun Gorai (PI) and Patrick Underhill (co-PI) has been awarded a grant from the Future of Computing Research Collaboration (FCRC). The FCRC is a joint partnership between RPI and IBM Corporation to advance research in Artificial Intelligence, Semiconductors, and Quantum Computing.

The grant aims to more efficiently and accurately model the thermodynamics and functional properties of alloys, which are solid solutions of two or more elements or compounds. Alloys are chemically disordered materials, where atoms of two or more types occupy the same lattice in a random (disordered) manner. The new grant will develop and use hybrid quantum-classical workflows to model the multi-body interactions that are a defining feature of such disordered materials. 

Gorai says, “Chemical disorder in alloys creates an enormous number of possible atomic arrangements, making it extremely challenging to model their behavior using conventional methods. This project explores how hybrid quantum-classical approaches can help us efficiently capture these complex interactions.”

This work expands the research in the department using RPI’s IBM Quantum System One quantum computer. Patrick Underhill’s research group was previously funded by the FCRC to apply quantum computing methods to understand the assembly of soft materials.

Department Head, Todd Przybycien added, “This award highlights our department’s leadership in bringing together chemical engineering, materials science, and emerging computing paradigms to solve complex problems.”