Quantum Computing for the Simulation of Heterogeneous Materials

Quantum Computing for the Simulation of Heterogeneous Materials
Translating the simulation of how heterogeneous materials deform under stress into algorithms for quantum computers, a first step toward material-scale simulations that classical supercomputers cannot afford.

Team Members

  • Sofia Brown
  • Ricardo Lebensohn (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Funding

  • UCI–LANL–SoCalHub Research Fellowship, 2025 – 2026

Abstract

Predicting whether a structural part will bend, crack, or hold requires resolving the internal structure of the material it is made of, and the cost of such simulations grows steeply with resolution, until even the largest supercomputers fall short. Quantum computers offer a fundamentally different scaling, but so far only simplified versions of materials simulations have been written as quantum circuits. Through the UCI–LANL–SoCalHub Research Fellowship, which pairs UCI doctoral students with scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, this project translates the simulation of elastic deformation in heterogeneous materials, such as composites, into quantum algorithms. A general elastic formulation has been implemented as a quantum circuit and validated against a classical benchmark, a particle embedded in a surrounding matrix, with which it agrees. Co-mentored by Prof. Rimoli and Ricardo Lebensohn of Los Alamos, the work is a step toward simulations that classical machines cannot afford and, ultimately, toward lighter and more damage-tolerant aerospace structures.

Read more in the UCI news story about the fellowship.