Strengthening research on new computer technologies
Three new directors are strengthening research on innovative computer technologies at Jülich. Focusing on quantum computing and neuromorphic computing, Prof. Rami Barends, John Paul Strachlan and Emre Neftci moved to Jülich from California. In the future, the work of JARA members in the Fundamentals of Future Information Technology section will also benefit from their expertise.
The three newly appointed directors at the Peter Grünberg Institute are all focused on new forms of computing that are poised to fundamentally change the IT world. Quantum computers and neuromorphic computers already are the subject of intensive research at Jülich. The new approaches offer a lot of potential for certain tasks, in which conventional computers are increasingly being brought to their limits: for example in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) or in the case of complex simulations in materials research and medicine or the intelligent control of traffic flows.
Dutch-born Prof. Rami Barends worked for Google on the hardware of the first quantum computer. In Jülich, he will now head a low-temperature laboratory in which a quantum computer shall be realized. Neuromorphic computing, on the other hand, is the focus of John Paul Strachlan and Emre Neftci. John Paul Strachlan is moving from the Hewlett-Packard laboratories to Forschungszentrum Jülich. The 42-year-old brings with him extensive knowledge of developing neuroinspired computing concepts and implementing the corresponding hardware. Emre Neftci, who previously worked at the University of California, focuses primarily on neuromorphic hardware and algorithms for machine learning. The goal is to take full advantage of the new technologies with the right algorithms and software.
More information about the three new directors is available on the Forschungszentrum Jülich website: https://www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/Press/PressReleases/2021/2021-09-07-brain-gain/_node.html