Q-Spatial 2025

Co-located with

Corporate Sponsors

Important Dates

Lighting Talk Submission:
September 15, 2025
Notification of Decision:
September 23, 2025
Backup Recorded Version:
November 1, 2025

Welcome to Q-Spatial 2025

The 1st ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Quantum Computing and Quantum-Inspired Technologies for Spatial Data Systems and Applications

Keynote: “D-Wave Quantum Optimization Realized”

Speaker

Catherine Potts, Ph.D.
Principal Technical Account Manager,
D-Wave Quantum Inc.

Dr. Catherine Potts is a Principal Technical Account Manager at D-Wave Quantum Inc., assisting clients in building quantum optimization applications for commercial and research use. She has a PhD in applied mathematics from Montana State University, focused on adapting machine learning algorithms to scientific imaging. Since 2020, she’s been focused on building quantum computing applications for different types of quantum hardware, including D-Wave’s quantum annealing and hybrid technology.

Abstract

Quantum computing promises to accelerate computational power in a variety of application spaces. D-Wave Quantum Inc. has targeted optimization problems with its quantum annealing hardware, hybrid quantum-classical software, and services. In this talk, we will explore the different use cases tackled by D-Wave’s technology, including areas of scheduling, allocation, and querying. An introduction to quantum computing will be provided, as well as an example of how research using quantum optimization has expanded as the technology has improved over the past 10 years.

Workshop Overview

Quantum computing and other quantum-driven technologies have been a field of technology investment for decades. With promising potential, significant investments from many governmental and industrial parties are poured into winning the race. The SIGSPATIAL community is building a capacity in that promising technology field. This workshop aims to bring together SIGSPATIAL community members interested in exploring quantum technologies in spatial systems and applications. It will also invite non-SIGSPATIAL members who are experts in the field of quantum technologies to enrich the community and foster learning and collaboration. The workshop will be open to all levels of expertise, allowing participants to contribute or learn.

Workshop Mission and Goals

The high-level philosophy of organizing this workshop is engaging, motivating, encouraging, and helping interested SIGSPATIAL community members to explore spatial problems that could take advantage of quantum computing. This mission breaks down into the following goals:

Community building: building a sub-community within ACM SIGSPATIAL that is interested in exploring research and applications using quantum technologies.
Research innovations: pushing high-quality quantum-driven research into the mainstream SIGSPATIAL conference and other relevant journals and research venues.
Community vision: building a community vision towards a rich and concrete agenda for SIGSPATIAL contributions to the quantum technologies field.

The International Year of Quantum 2025

On June 7, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared 2025 "The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology". Organizing this workshop will be part of the global community efforts to raise awareness about quantum computing technologies and their impact in the context of spatial data. Check https://quantum2025.org/ for more details and events.

Updates

We are thrilled to announce that D-Wave has joined as a sponsor for Q-Spatial 2025!
We are honored to have Catherine Potts, Ph.D. from D-Wave as our keynote speaker!

Workshop Organizers

Moustafa Youssef

Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
American University in Cairo, Egypt

Email: moustafa-youssef@aucegypt.edu
Ibrahim Sabek

Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Spatial Sciences
USC Spatial Sciences Institute
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA

Email: sabek@usc.edu
Amr Magdy

Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
UCR Center for GeoSpatial Sciences
University of California, Riverside, USA

Email: amr@cs.ucr.edu
Yunhan Chang

Phd Student of Computer Science and Engineering
UCR Center for GeoSpatial Sciences
University of California, Riverside, USA

Email: ychan268@.edu

Workshop Program

The workshop program is designed to provide both introductory material for newcomers and advanced content for experienced researchers. Join us for a full day of tutorials, keynotes, and hands-on sessions!

Schedule - Monday, November 3, 2025

Time	Session
8:00 AM	Opening Remarks
8:10 AM	Introduction to Quantum Computing Fundamentals Moustafa Youssef and Ibrahim Sabek
8:40 AM	Tutorial 1 - Part 1: Introduction to Quantum Annealing and its Applications to Spatial Data Ibrahim Sabek
10:00 AM	Coffee Break
10:30 AM	Tutorial 2 - Part 1: Introduction to Quantum Circuit Model and its Applications to Spatial Data Moustafa Youssef
11:30 AM	Keynote Talk Catherine Potts, Ph.D., Principal Technical Account Manager at D-Wave Quantum Inc.
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM	Lunch with the Expert Lunch provided for participants on a first-register first-serve basis
2:15 PM	Tutorial 2 - Part 2: Introduction to Quantum Circuit Model and its Applications to Spatial Data Moustafa Youssef
3:15 PM	Coffee Break
3:30 PM	Quantum Machine Learning Yousra Farhani, L'École Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique (ESI)
4:00 PM	Lightning Talks: Spatially Enhanced Quantum Optimization for Network Planning Yaron Kanza, AT&T Randomized Transformations for Processing Spatial Data on Quantum Computers Martin Werner, Technical University of Munich Quantum Databases Carla Sophie Rieger, Technical University of Munich
4:30 PM	Break
4:45 PM	Tutorial 1 - Part 2: Introduction to Quantum Annealing and its Applications to Spatial Data Ibrahim Sabek and Amr Magdy
5:15 PM	Quantum Lab: Hands-on Session on D-Wave Quantum Annealer Catherine Potts, Amr Magdy, Ibrahim Sabek, and Yunhan Chang

Follow-up Online Session

Community Brainstorming Session for a Future Research Agenda of Combining Quantum Computing and Spatial Computing

Quantum Lab: Hands-on Demonstrations

Explore quantum computing through practical examples

Welcome to the Quantum Lab! This hands-on session features four interactive demonstrations that showcase the power of quantum computing using D-Wave. Each demo is designed to help you understand quantum computing concepts through practical applications.

Demo 1: At Most One Scoop

Objective: Introduction to unconstrained optimization

This demo introduces the basics of quantum optimization by solving a simple ice cream purchase problem. You'll learn how to formulate an unconstrained minimization problem where the goal is to select at most one ice cream flavor (vanilla or chocolate) while minimizing cost.

Demo 2: Exactly One Scoop

Objective: Introduction to quantum constraint with penalty

Building on the previous demo, this example adds a constraint requiring exactly one ice cream scoop to be purchased. You'll learn how to enforce hard constraints in quantum optimization by incorporating penalty terms into the objective function.

Demo 3: Graph Partitioning with CQM

Objective: Solving spatial optimization problems using Constrained Quadratic Models

This demonstration tackles a classic spatial computing problem: partitioning a graph into balanced regions while minimizing the number of edges cut between regions. Using D-Wave's Constrained Quadratic Model (CQM) solver, you'll see how to handle complex constraints including one-hot encoding (each node belongs to exactly one partition) and partition size requirements.

Demo 4: Graph Partitioning with NL-Solver

Objective: Advanced spatial optimization using Nonlinear Models

This advanced demo solves the same graph partitioning problem using D-Wave's Nonlinear (NL) solver, which supports more flexible variable types and constraints. Instead of binary one-hot variables, this approach uses integer variables to directly represent partition assignments. You'll learn how the NL-solver enables more natural problem formulations for spatial optimization and compare its performance with the CQM approach.

Demo Code Link:

https://github.com/qspatial/Q-Spatial-Demo

Call for Participation

ACM SIGSPATIAL 2025 is hosting its first workshop on Quantum Computing and Quantum-Inspired Technologies for Spatial Data Systems and Applications (Q-Spatial). Our program includes a variety of tutorials, talks, and topics, both introductory and advanced material on quantum computing fundamentals. The workshop does not assume any level of knowledge or expertise in quantum computing.

What's Included

Access to Real Quantum Hardware: The workshop provides access to a real enterprise quantum computer (D-Wave Quantum Annealer). A limited number of accounts are available on a first-register, first-served basis.
Corporate Sponsorship: Q-Spatial Workshop is sponsored by D-Wave Quantum Inc., a major quantum computing company.
Lunch with an Expert: We will host a "lunch with an expert" session with our keynote speaker, Dr. Catherine Potts, the Principal Technical Account Manager at D-Wave Quantum Inc. The lunch slots will be limited and by invitation only to the first workshop participants.

What to Do Next?

Fill the call for participation form below, register for the workshop, and meet us in Minneapolis, Minnesota in November!

Fill Out Participation Form

Registration for the Q-Spatial 2025 workshop will be handled through the main conference registration system.

How to Register

Please visit the ACM SIGSPATIAL 2025 Conference Website for details on registration fees and procedures.

1st ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Quantum Computing and Quantum-Inspired Technologies for Spatial Data Systems and Applications