A team of Yale students competed with over 100 students across nine universities and won the Quantum UP! Challenge, which engages Connecticut students in the emerging field of quantum computing.

The team, comprised of Rui Li SOM ’25, Sander Cohen-Janes GRD ’29, John-Paul Webster GRD ’29 and Lucy Damachi ’26, won the Quantum Disruption problem — investigating applications for quantum technology in the finance and insurance sectors. The four students created a roadmap of how industries could integrate quantum computing. 

“More people need to look at emerging technology and look outside their circle,” Li said. “It’s very promising in the future but just nascent enough that people aren’t working on it.”

Quantum computers use quantum mechanics principles to process information in a far more powerful way than classical computers, according to Li. 

In a classical computer, information is stored in bits, which can be either 0 or 1. A quantum computer uses qubits, which can exist in a state of 0, 1, or any combination of both at the same time. 

This means that instead of processing one computation at a time, a quantum computer can explore many possible solutions simultaneously, greatly increasing computer efficiency.

“Classical computers take a few hundred years to solve certain problems that a quantum computer can solve in a few hours,” Li said.

Webster highlighted how quantum computers can help reduce computational costs. Every calculation demands time, energy and money. Quantum computing can potentially speed up large-scale calculations in industries like finance and banking, reducing their cost.

The winners analyzed existing research and models to understand how businesses could integrate quantum computing to save costs. On Nov. 1, they presented their findings to business leaders and sponsors at the event, which was hosted at the University of Connecticut.

Florian Carle, the managing director of the Yale Quantum Institute and one of the organizers of Quantum UP! Challenge, said the team’s success was fueled by its members’ diverse backgrounds and skills.

Webster and Cohen-Janes are both pursuing doctorates in chemistry, while Li and Damachi are students at the School of Management and Yale College, respectively. 

“I think it gave the team the breadth of knowledge and insights that a team only composed of grad students or Yale College students would not have been able to,” Carle said. “They stand out because of the innovative approach that they have done for this challenge.”

Team members also believe that close collaboration allowed them to cover the business and technical sides of the problem in depth.

Through QuantumCT and the Yale Quantum Institute, Carle explained that he ultimately envisions creating a corridor of jobs in the quantum technology sector in Connecticut. 

“We want as many people as possible to be prepared and not scared of the future but more excited about it,” Carle said.

The team was supported by Yale Ventures, Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale and the Yale Quantum Institute.