Respected In Their Fields
About a year ago, I wrote a post for TQD covering some of the most influential women in the quantum tech industry today. The article, 12 Women Pioneering The World Of Quantum Computing, covered some high-profile people like Michelle Simmons and Krysta Svore, as well others who are not so famous but no less distinguished in their respective fields in academia or business within quantum tech.
One woman profiled who is both an academic and entrepreneur is Sabrina Maniscalco, a professor of quantum information and logic at the University of Helsinki, the Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Turku and an Adjunct Professor at Aalto University, Finland. Along with this, she is the vice director of the Finnish Centre of Excellence for Quantum Technologies, serving on the Boards of the Centre for Quantum Engineering at Aalto University, of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (Austria) and of the Nordita-Condensed Matter Institute (Sweden).
Already an academic with a busy schedule, this didn’t stop her from setting up the quantum startup Algorithmiq with some colleagues in 2020 to develop quantum-enhanced software solutions to complex problems in life sciences using the principles of quantum mechanics.
Algorithmiq
The startup joins IQM in shaping the quantum tech industry in the Land of a Thousand Lakes.
We develop quantum-enhanced solutions to complex problems
— Algorithmiq
As Algorithmiq’s CEO, Maniscalco’s opinion and strategic thinking will play a pivotal role in how the startup develops its proprietary technology to a degree where commercialization is possible.
With a quantum-powered platform set to exploit the power of quantum computing through the team’s novel algorithmic IP, it hopes to build a real-world advantage in areas like drug design.
When TQD asked the startup about its business, the Algorithiq team’s answer was enlightening: “We believe that to solve the most urgent problems that humanity is facing, we need to learn from Nature and from its fundamental quantum laws on how to create a sustainable future for our planet.”
As leading experts in quantum technologies, Maniscalco and Algorithmiq’s founding team of Guillermo Garcia Perez, Matteo Rossi, Boris Sokolov, and Jussi Westergren “combine their expertise on quantum information, complex systems and computational physics to develop algorithms that run on near-term quantum devices to solve important problems in life sciences.”
Yet there’s more from the Algorithmiq team in the form of QPlayLearn, an on-line educational platform of multimedia resources on quantum science and technologies. Designed so that learning can be attained in a playful way, QPlayLearn’s objective is “to provide multilevel education on quantum science and technologies to everyone, regardless of their age and background”, a worthy cause.
“Our mission is to push the boundaries of the impossible by channelling the power of quantum computers and algorithms to revolutionize life sciences.”
— Algorithmiq
QPlayLearn
Dedicated to high schools and university students, as well as industry professionals wanting to learn more about quantum tech, QPlayLearn’s intentions bridge the gap between the opaque world of quantum mechanics and its real-life applications. With help from a number of collaborators that include IBM Zurich researcher James Wootton — one of the developers and evangelists of the quantum error correction game Decodoku — the platform joins the handful of others on the market slowly making their mark.
The platform also offers Quest, a free quantum dictionary, which is a resource loaded with key concepts of quantum physics.
Understand the Q bit
— QPlayLearn
With Maniscalco deeply involved in the commercial side of quantum with Algorithmiq and its educational cousin in QPlayLearn, her experience coordinating several international and interdisciplinary projects can only help her and the team involved build something that adds value to the quantum tech ecosystem.
For more market insights, check out our latest quantum computing news here.
