Quantum computer at U of S could be ‘real game-changer’ for vaccines

The University of Saskatchewan is getting a quantum computer later this year and it could help fast-track vaccine development.

The U of S will be home to the first university owned-and-operated, full-stack, vendor-supported, open-architecture quantum computer in Canada, it announced on March 31.

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PrairiesCan provided $1.93 million of funding for the new technology, while Innovation Saskatchewan gave an additional $400,000.

According to Stephen Rayan, the university’s Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications director, this chip contains 14 quantum bits. In comparison, your phone has, “about a billion bits in it, and they’re great. But the 14 of these, in fact, even one of these quantum bits is much more powerful than all of these billion bits in your phone put together,” he said. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)

While it sounds complicated, the difference between the average computer and a quantum computer is like comparing, “the candle… to the light bulb,” according to Stephen Rayan, the university’s Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications director and principal investigator on the project.

“That’s the leap that we’re talking about,” he said.

Breaking it down further, Rayan said the computing chips in our phones have a billion bits, “which are like little on/off switches.”

“Everything that your computer does, everything has to get reduced down to those on/off switches, moving them around,” he said.

So, everything from watching a movie to sending an email has to ultimately be encoded in these binary switches.

But, the quantum bits in the chip used by a quantum computer aren’t like on/off switches.

Instead, “it’s a dimmer switch,” Rayan said.

They, “can be on, off or anything in-between — and that anything in-between is what makes this so much more powerful than an ordinary computer,” he said.

With a quantum chip, the amount of data that can be stored or processed increases massively.

“So you could run through, if you like, thousands and thousands of scenarios all at once, compared to your ordinary computer struggling to sort of crunch through them sequentially,” he said.

This a mock up of what the quantum computer will look like. Beyond medicine, the U of S said the computer can be used to further research in, “defence innovations such as accelerated decision-making… and process optimization in energy and agriculture.” (University of Saskatchewan/Submitted)

What this means for vaccine development

Having a quantum computer will be monumental for science, research, and development not just in Saskatchewan, but also in Canada.

According to a release sent from the U of S, the computer will specifically allow for “new avenues for research including discovering new drugs and vaccines in partnership with research teams at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO).”

Expanding on that, Rayan said one of the goals for the quantum computer is speeding up vaccine development.

So, if there’s a pathogen of concern that could impact people’s lives, “instead of taking a year to develop a vaccine … could you develop that vaccine or discover that intervention, let’s say, in a few minutes?” he said.

The computer could run through “all the different possibilities all at once, side by side,” to find the vaccine that works, according to Rayan.

If it can do that in minutes, “I think that’s a real game-changer,” he said, adding how the quantum computer will also make a difference in the energy sector and agriculture.

Looking towards the future, for Rayan, it would be great if other Canadian universities follow suit and get their own quantum computers, thereby creating a country-wide network which could, “do something that is much bigger than the sum of their parts.”

The university’s quantum computer is expected to go online by November 2026.

Read more:

• ‘I can do anything I want’: Cole Blocka hopes to study at U of S
• Months-long University Bridge closure expected to start early next month: City
• Sask. Polytechnic navigating enrollment decline, need for trained workers