The growth of classical computational power supported by continued size reduction is expected to find its limit around 2019, when devices will probe the atomic scale. Fortunately, this limit represents an opportunity as systems are ruled by quantum mechanics that may lead to more efficient computation techniques. Many systems have been proposed as candidates to implement quantum computers: trapped ions or cavity and circuit QED,... However, still none of them has emerged as a definite full-fledged and scalable quantum computer. The shortcomings imposed by classical computation appear to be especially critical when studying quantum mechanical systems, since the computational complexity increases exponentially with the system size. To deal with the intrinsic computational complexity of quantum mechanics, without recurring to quantum computation, Feynmann proposed to use quantum systems, already ruled by quantum laws, as analog quantum simulators.In this project, NanoQuIS (Nanophotonics for Quantum Information and Simulation), the applicant will study the possibilities for quantum information and simulation of one promising emergent platform, namely, atoms interfaced by photonic crystals. First, within a semiclassical framework, dielectric structures in one and two dimensions will be designed in order to trap atoms and induce special interactions between them. Then, it will be explored the different hamiltonians and open dissipative evolutions that can be engineered within these structures, to use them for both quantum information and simulation. Particular emphasis will be made in models with long-range interaction, e.g., quantum chemistry problems, due to their important practical implications. Together with the theoretical effort, the proposal aims at creating close collaborations with experimentalists in order to implement the first realizations of the proposed structures.