IBM Research3/26/2026

Quantum computers take a step into real materials science

Peter Hess
Studying and designing novel materials is a central application of quantum mechanics. Chemists, material scientists, and physicists focus on subtle interactions in quantum materials and to uncover them they rely on sophisticated computational and experimental techniques. Computer simulations that connect microscopic quantum interactions to measurable material properties complement experimental data to connect structure to function — but classical computers can struggle to simulate those...