What if computers could do more for materials science research than just run and evaluate pre-programmed simulations? The University of Tokyo set out to answer that question with the goal of accelerating and eventually automating the design of metamaterials. These artificial substances have properties that do not exist in nature, which are derived from the structure of the material rather than its composition. Using D-Wave's 2000Q quantum annealer, researchers sought optimal solutions for designing a thermal radiator.