Quantum technology jointly developed at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has now been spun off into a new deep tech startup, AQSolotl.

 

The startup’s flagship product, CHRONOS-Q, is a quantum controller that acts as a translator between conventional computing systems and quantum computers.

 

Developed by university researchers affiliated with Singapore’s Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), it enables users to control quantum computers easily and efficiently using their laptops and desktop computers.

 

Unlike traditional computers that operate on a binary system of 1s and 0s, quantum computers utilise the principles of quantum mechanics to achieve vastly superior computational capabilities.

 

Quantum computers will solve problems once considered unsolvable by conventional computers, opening new possibilities in fields like cryptography, advanced simulations and AI. They are theorised to be many thousands of times more powerful than today’s fastest silicon processors for some complex computational tasks.

 

The proprietary quantum controller technology, developed and refined over three years, is currently being piloted at CQT as part of the hardware setup for the National Quantum Computing Hub and NTU’s Nanyang Quantum Hub.

A research team from the Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology has developed an explainable AI method to observe the splashing drops of different liquids while impacting a solid surface. This achievement provides important insights into the phenomenon of splash, which is important for various applications, such as aeronautics, biology, chemical and mechanical engineering, materials, acoustics, and combustion.

The 26th Nagoya Medal of Organic Chemistry will be held on Friday, January 24th, 2025 (JST).

The gold medal will be presented to Professor Alois Fürstner (Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Germany), and the silver medal will be presented to Professor Masayuki Inoue (The University of Tokyo, Japan).

In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Chemistry, the review comprehensively introduces strategies for regulating water activity through electrolyte engineering to achieve side reaction-suppressed Zinc-based aqueous batteries (ZABs), including the latest research on aqueous zinc-metal batteries, the origin of critical zinc-related problems, and the development of technological and electrolyte additives. Lastly, various strategies were summarized from different perspectives to improve the performance of zinc metal anodes.

Professor Sangmin Lee from POSTECH’s Department of Chemical Engineering, in collaboration with 2024 Nobel Chemistry Laureate Professor David Baker from the University of Washington, has developed an innovative therapeutic platform by mimicking the intricate structures of viruses using artificial intelligence (AI). Their pioneering research was published in Nature on Dec. 18.

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to receive two prestigious Microelectronics Science Research Center. The DOE program leading to these awards originated from the CHIPS and Science Act. Yevgeny Raitses will lead efforts to incorporate 2D materials into next-generation semiconductors, while Alastair Stacey will research diamond materials for sensors that need to work in harsh environments. These awards underscore PPPL’s expertise in plasma, which is a key part of making microelectronics and the highest quality, lab-grown diamond.