Hi there,
Big things are happening in Toronto this fall. This September, IEEE Quantum Week comes to Toronto—the home of Xanadu and PennyLane. Our team is gearing up to share some major updates on quantum software, algorithm design, and fault-tolerant photonic hardware. Not only that, but QHack makes its official return!
So whether you are traveling here to talk quantum, or you are getting ready to warm up your keyboard for QHack, this fall is packed with action. We’ve rounded up all the places you can meet our team over the coming weeks. Let’s dive in!
In this issue
🍁 Come meet the team at various conferences and events in September!
🥳 Sign up for QHack 2026! USD$15,000 will go to the top team.
🧩 Can you solve our quantum puzzle?
Hear the latest results and announcements at IEEE Quantum Week, IWQC, and QRE 🍁
September is looking to be a very busy month with IEEE Quantum Week in Toronto from September 13-18! Here's where to find us and all the cool things we are doing:
- What would it really cost to run workflows for promising applications, such as quantum chemistry or computational fluid dynamics (CFD), on hardware? Bring a laptop to an interactive tutorial on Monday, September 14! Ben Lau, Daniel Felipe Nino, and Catalina Albornoz will walk you through building, compiling, and performing resource estimation for fault-tolerant workflows in PennyLane.
- Teach quantum computing? Join Daniel Felipe Nino and Ben Lau at the Quantum Science and Engineering Education Conference (QSEEC) on September 14 for a hands-on tutorial on building your course around PennyLane's free, open-source educational resources.
- Hear the latest in all things quantum software at the Quantum Software 2.6 Workshop on September 17. Say hi to co-organizers Josh Izaac and Catalina Albornoz, and stay for the presentation by Lee O'Riordan on ultra-low latency quantum execution.
Also, register for the International Workshop on Quantum Compilation (IWQC) on September 19-20 to hear about how:
- Flag decompositions deliver parameter-optimal synthesis at real system sizes from Guillermo Alonso, and
- PennyLane's compilation content is a vital part of the compilation research flywheel from Catalina Albornoz.
Register now before it closes on August 28.
Then stay through Monday, September 21 for the co-located Quantum Resource Estimation (QRE) workshop hosted at Xanadu, where the community works out what fault-tolerant algorithms will actually cost in qubits and runtime.
We've barely scratched the surface! Bookmark our blog post for the complete list: every talk, workshop, tutorial, and panel where you can meet the Xanadu and PennyLane team, with rooms and times updated as the schedule solidifies.
Sign up for QHack 2026! 🥳
We are excited to announce that QHack is coming back this October 16-23! This year, we're doubling down on what you love most: the coding challenges. The ultimate test of quantum coding skills with the biggest cash prize pool in QHack history, including a humongous USD$15,000 Grand Prize! 💸
We're expanding the rewards too; prizes go to the Top 10 teams this year, not just the Top 5.
Get ready now with the PennyLane Codebook, coding challenges, and much more, and ask questions in the PennyLane Forum.
Sign up for QHack today 👇
Can you solve this quantum puzzle? 🧩
We loved seeing the creativity of our community during the inaugural unitaryDESIGN this year. Here is one winning concept by ACE07-SEV. Can you figure out the word hidden in the image below?
Need a hint? Check out the PennyLane Codebook.
Happy coding,
The PennyLane Team
About the author
David Ren
David is a Quantum Scientist at Xanadu. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Fun fact: He believes in one-way cycling.