Dear all,

About the logo, I have already mentioned this at several group meetings but I think that maybe I did not express myself clearly: I feel uncomfortable with the acronym Quthco being used for branding purposes and communication to the public, I neither find it representative nor very appropriate and I would personally prefer not being associated with it.

As said earlier, one reason is that it sounds like "Cuzco", a main city in Perú, which is not representative of a research group in Spain. The name suggests we are a group in South America.

But, also, there is a sensitive geopolitical issue, which is that Cuzco was the former capital of the Incan empire, brutally conquered by the Spanish troupes of Francisco Pizarro leading to the disappearance of the Incan empire after. I think that using the name "Cuzco" to call a group in Spain could hurt the sensitivities of our colleagues from Perú, who might associate it to a historic violent event. This is also one of the first things you get in Google when you search for "Cuzco" and "Spain", which make the acronym likely quite impractical and possibly offensive if we are to interact with our colleagues in South America.

For this reason, I would prefer that pick some acronym that has a more neutral meaning or something more representative of our local culture. E.g., I proposed QUARTHO (Quantum computing Architectures and ThermOdynamics), the logo could be a mineral. I am happy to discuss alternatives in order to make everybody feel comfortable.

Best,
Juani