Never Down & Out
Although the burgeoning industry of quantum computing (QC) and other areas of quantum information science are mainly concentrated in North America, Europe and Asia, the sector is gaining enough traction that there are pockets of interest in the way of groups, forums and fledgling organizations in Latin America and Africa as well.
At present, Latin America — notwithstanding its population size and young demographic — is far behind the leading regions in R&D and education in the space. Yet that doesn’t mean it is totally down and out.
The University of São Paulo Institute of Physics (Brazil), the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education School of Engineering (Mexico), the University of Los Andes Laboratory of Quantum Optics (Colombia), the National Autonomous University of Mexico Nuclear Sciences Institute (Mexico), and the University of Buenos Aires Quantum Information, Computation, and Communication Group (Argentina) are leading the charge in the academic sphere for South and Central America while being complemented by the smaller, indie initiatives like Brazil Quantum and QuantumHispano that are playing an important role in bringing the sector to the 450 million or so native Spanish speakers globally.
QuantumHispano
Founded in 2020, QuantumHispano is based in Mexico City and is a community of like-minded people whose vision is to create a world where quantum computing brings positive change to across the globe. Realizing the resources in Spanish in QC are currently few and far between, QuantumHispano intends to change this status quo by making more widely available Spanish-language resources on the subject and wider industry by education, scientific dissemination and the translation of scientific resources which will then go on to generate value for students, researchers and companies alike.
Cofounders of the initiative are Peruvian Alexander Morales Panitz and Mexicans Jazmin Esteva, Jesús Gutierrez and Victor Onofre (forgive me if I’ve left anyone out), a group of young quantum tech enthusiasts that emerged from collaboration, friendship and a great interest in QC. Credit for the team’s foresight must also go for the group seeing the quantum information bottleneck that exists in Latin America today — which they offer the perfect panacea for.
Although the short term doesn’t look like anything major will come out of the region as to QC, Latin America is a place full of innovation, passion and creation (and that’s not being patronizing, it’s fact), and it’s going to take enterprises like QuantumHispano to “break down the barriers that hold back the progress of quantum computing in Spanish-speaking countries.”
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