Best paper award: Giving materials discoveries a quantum push forward

Los Alamos computer scientists part of large team

Scott Pakin and Stephan Eidenbenz helped plow through the potential of quantum computing for some materials science problems that are inherently “quantum in nature.” Credit to: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Elsevier's Future Generation Computer Systems journal named " Quantum-centric supercomputing for materials science: A perspective on challenges and future directions " one of its two 2025 Best Paper Award winners. Stephan Eidenbenz and Scott Pakin of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Computing and Artificial Intelligence division contributed to this highly cited research performed by an international team from 66 organizations. The team explored how quantum computers could accelerate computational tasks in novel materials science design, characterization and discovery, which currently bog down high-performance supercomputing centers. Results from two Los Alamos projects on quantum algorithms for materials science, co-led by Eidenbenz, informed the award-winning paper. Likewise, the paper has shaped some of Los Alamos’ current directions in quantum algorithms work funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. The big picture: From algorithms and devices to materials and quantum information science, Los Alamos is prioritizing quantum research to enhance scientific discovery and national security. The Lab plays a vital role in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Quantum Science Center, for which Pakin is the chief scientist. LA-UR-26-20438

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