Explore next-gen quantum algorithms with IBM Quantum Credits

June 22, 2026 | Source: IBM Research

Tags: IBM Quantum, quantum computing, QPU, quantum algorithms, particle physics, wavepackets, Caltech

IBM's Quantum Credits program spotlights four recent utility-scale research projects, including a Caltech/UW-developed quantum algorithm for particle collision state preparation and novel protein structure approaches — each using just 5-10 hours of QPU time to generate publishable results, showing that short hardware access windows can now yield real scientific output.

Details

The IBM Quantum Credits program awards free QPU time to tenure-track faculty and professional researchers based on technical merit. Projects must demonstrate a clear plan for extracting meaningful results from real quantum hardware in 5-10 hours of QPU time — a deliberately low bar designed to prove utility at today's hardware scale. Four highlighted projects span distinct domains. Roland Farrell (Caltech) and Nikita Zemlevskiy (UW) developed a new quantum state preparation algorithm for particle scattering simulations, addressing the difficulty of representing quantum states of interacting particles that classical computers cannot efficiently simulate. A second project involves protein structure research. Details on the other two projects are not fully extracted in the available content. The broader program includes the IBM Quantum Open Plan, new Classroom Accounts, and the original Credits program — all part of IBM's decade-long open access strategy that began by putting the first quantum computer on the cloud. The Credits program specifically targets novel algorithmic contributions rather than applying existing techniques to new datasets. The particle collision algorithm is the most technically specific result described: it introduces a new approach to preparing localized particle wavepackets ('wavepackets') required for scattering simulations. The underlying motivation is that quantum computers could eventually simulate complex collisions from first principles — something classical computers cannot do.