QISCA Newsletter - February 2026

February QISCA Introductory Seminar and Journal Club Held

By Hyunwoo Kang

The February 2026 QISCA Basic Seminar and Journal Club was held with four journal club sessions.

On February 2nd, Sungeun Kim from QIYA presented on “Principles of Quantum Machine Learning and Multidisciplinary Applications of Hybrid QNNs”. The presentation explored Quantum Machine Learning (QML) as a solution to the scaling cost problem of classical AI. Specifically, it addressed the Barren Plateau (BP) phenomenon, where gradients vanish exponentially in deep quantum circuits, as a major bottleneck. To mitigate this, an 'Identity-Preserving Restricted Initialization' strategy was proposed, which initializes parameters within a narrow range close to zero. Lung cancer CT data tests proved that this hybrid QNN achieved state-of-the-art accuracy with significantly fewer parameters compared to classical models like ResNet, while demonstrating superiority in convergence speed and robustness.

On the same day, Seonggeun Park from QUICK presented on “End-to-End Efficient Quantum Thermal and Ground State Preparation Made Simple”. He reviewed a recent framework that performs efficient quantum thermal and ground state preparation based on weak system-bath interactions. The approach showed the creation of a discrete time channel approximating Lindblad dynamics by repeatedly coupling the system to a single qubit thermal ancilla with randomly sampled interaction frequencies. Through numerical simulations on the transverse field Ising model, it demonstrated that this method is practically effective in reaching a fixed point close to the target Gibbs or ground state.

On February 9th, Heemin Kim from SQRT presented on “Generation of 2D photonic cluster states with a superconducting qubit”. He explored the deterministic generation of 2D photonic cluster states using a hardware-efficient waveguide QED platform. A time-delayed feedback loop was implemented by coupling a single flux-tunable transmon to a slow-light waveguide integrated with a switchable mirror. High-fidelity (90%) qubit-photon CZ gates were realized by mitigating waveguide dispersion through precise pulse shaping. As a result, the successful synthesis of 2D cluster states with 70% process fidelity marked a significant step toward the scalability of measurement-based quantum computation.

On the same day, Jaewon Choi from QUICK presented on “Logical quantum processor based on reconfigurable atom arrays”. He demonstrated a logical quantum processor supporting active error detection and logical-level operations based on reconfigurable neutral-atom arrays. By combining a zoned architecture with correlated decoding, correlated errors arising from global control were mitigated. By implementing a classically hard IQP sampling circuit driven by transversal non-Clifford gates including CCZ using small 3D [[8,3,2]] codes without a universal fault-tolerant gate set, it showed that scalable logical-level quantum computation is already achievable on neutral-atom platforms.

On February 23rd, Hoseong Kwak from EQS presented on “review of Thermodynamics of the Quantum Mpemba Effect”. He investigated the Quantum Mpemba effect from the perspective of nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics by studying a quantum system coupled to a Markovian heat bath described by a Davies map. He showed that an exponential speedup to equilibrium always occurs when a state with coherence in the energy eigenbasis is transformed into a diagonal state. He argued through thermodynamic reasoning that it is a genuine quantum Mpemba effect when the transformed state has a higher nonequilibrium free energy, and proved this in single- and multiqubit examples.

On the same day, Yebin Choi from Kwangwoon University presented on “Low-Entropy State Preparation for the 2D Hubbard Model”. She discussed a recent ultracold-atom quantum simulation extending the 2D Fermi-Hubbard model into the long-sought doped + low-temperature regime. The method started from a low-entropy state and coupled it to a gapless metallic reservoir to enter the strongly correlated regime while minimizing heating. This approach opened a low-temperature pathway across ~2% to 21% doping, enabling thermometry via short-range spin correlations and establishing a foundation for testing competing orders in the doped low-T phase diagram.

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The Korea Quantum Forum was held

Feb 3rd, 2026 (Tue)

By Sungbin Lee

20 QISCA members, including President Sungbin Lee and Vice President Wonjun Baek, participated in discussions regarding domestic talent cultivation and policy directions.

The delegation proposed policies such as establishing gifted classes for quantum information, expanding awards for quantum competitions, and adjusting stipends for undergraduate and graduate researchers.

The event also included meetings with Choi Min-hee, Chair of the Science and ICT Committee, and Gu Hyuk-chae, 1st Vice Minister of Science and ICT, to discuss future cooperation.

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The 1st National Undergraduate Quantum Conference was held by QISCA

Feb 11th, 2026 (Wed)

By Sungbin Lee

The 1st National Undergraduate Quantum Conference was held by QISCA on February 11th at Seoul National University.

The event brought together over 200 students from across the country.

Key officials from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korean Quantum Information Society attended to celebrate the launch.

Keynote speakers included academic experts from SNU, IBS, Yonsei, and KAIST, alongside industry leaders from IBM, SDT, and Norma. 15 student teams shared their research through poster presentations, and the association officially changed its Korean name to "한국대학생양자학회" following a naming contest.

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Interview with Director Minhee Choi and Kyungsook Yoon

Feb 27th, 2026 (Fri)

By Sungbin Lee

On February 27th, QISCA executives met with Chair Minhee Choi and Director General Kyungsook Yoon at the National Assembly.

Seven board members proposed measures for talent cultivation and industrial ecosystem growth, including international internships, domestic and overseas corporate tours, and the expansion of student support programs.

Chair Choi emphasized the need for policy-centered discussions and suggested reorienting overseas tours toward major ecosystems like Chicago or Chinese quantum clusters.

Director General Yoon stated that some policies would be implemented immediately, while others would be reflected in the next year's budget, including expanded hackathons and the opening of quantum graduate school curricula to undergraduates.

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Coverage of Yonsei University Quantum Computing Center

Feb 10th, 2026 (Tue)

By Dogyeom Kim

QISCA members are also active as student reporters for ‘Quantum Wave,’ a webzine operated by the Korean Quantum Information Society.

On February 10th, the team visited Professor Bang Jeong-ho’s lab at Yonsei University. The interview covered the current state of their quantum hardware and the potential for merging AI with quantum algorithms.

The visit confirmed the lab's long-term vision for achieving fault-tolerant computing through quantum error correction. Detailed information can be found at https://quantumwave.or.kr/laboratory/view/id/7

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Coverage of Quantum Team at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD)

Feb 23rd, 2026 (Mon)

By Dogyeom Kim

On February 23rd, the team interviewed the quantum research group at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

The coverage focused on defense-specific quantum applications, including quantum sensing for submarine detection, quantum radar for identifying stealth aircraft via entangled photons, and wireless QKD for satellite-to-ground secure communication.

This visit highlighted how quantum technology is transitioning from the laboratory to real-world operational environments as a future national security game-changer. Detailed information can be found at https://quantumwave.or.kr/laboratory/view/id/6