The National Science Foundation (NSF) said Thursday that it is awarding $16 million to four teams it has selected to build high-tech infrastructure to accelerate quantum science discovery over the next two years.
Those teams will work under NSF’s National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NSF NQVL) and will each receive $4 million to give quantum researchers across the country access to specialized resources.
“The National Quantum Virtual Laboratory is a critical bridge between basic discovery and deployment, specifically focused on turning America’s leadership in fundamental quantum science into practical technologies, products, and systems that will strengthen our nation’s competitiveness and ensure U.S. dominance in this field for decades to come,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director, in a statement.
The four teams selected by NSF include industry members, federal agencies – such as the Departments of Energy and Defense, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and NASA – and institutions of higher education.
Teams specifically will “design practical ways to expand access to the hardware and software needed for quantum science, engineering and technology development, which are currently highly bespoke and concentrated in relatively few labs,” according to NSF.
Projects planned include shareable networked quantum computers that “can be used for experimentation from any location” and a digital twin of a quantum computer, which will be accessible to any U.S. researcher who wants to test and refine new quantum algorithms.
NSF said that the four design projects include:
- Quantum Advantage-Class Trapped Ions System;
- Quantum Computing Applications of Photonics;
- Wide-Area Quantum Network to Demonstrate Quantum Advantage; and
- Open Stack Rydberg Atom Quantum Computing Laboratory.
NSF NCQVL was founded as part of the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act as a first-of-its-kind national resource to enable faster discovery and development of use-inspired quantum technologies.
So far, more than 20 companies have joined the NSF NQVL as partners to develop and commercialize quantum technologies.