Quantum science gets funding infusion
Connecting state and local government leaders
The Department of Energy announced it is making $625 million available for multidisciplinary research centers in support of the National Quantum Initiative.
The Department of Energy announced plans to establish several multidisciplinary research centers in support of the National Quantum Initiative.
Making $625 million available to collaborative research teams, DOE plans to build centers that will "push the current state-of-the-art science and technology toward realizing the full potential of quantum-based applications," the agency said in its Jan. 10 funding opportunity announcement
The centers will expand understanding of quantum information science for computing, communication, sensors, chemistry and sensing applications and benefit national security, economic competitiveness and scientific leadership. The plan is to fund at least two centers at $10-25 million annually for five-year terms, the announcement states. The National Quantum Initiative Act authorizes as many as 10 centers.
In collaboration with other DOE-funded research programs and facilities, the centers will build on existing quantum science and technology available in the public and private sectors. A workforce development plan will provide educational and training programs along with opportunities for industry, university and lab researchers.
Also on Jan. 10, Argonne National Laboratory announced that it had launched a 52-mile testbed for quantum communications. The loop -- which consists of a pair of connected 26-mile fiber-optic cables running between the lab and the Illinois tollway near Bolingbrook and back -- will allow scientists to experiment with quantum networks and help lay the foundation for a quantum-based internet, officials said.
“Inaugurating this quantum loop is a significant step for Chicago and the nation in building a large-scale quantum network that can enable secure data transmissions over long distances,” said David Awschalom, principal investigator and senior scientist in the Materials Science Division at Argonne and director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange. “The loop will enable us to identify and address challenges in operating a quantum network and can be scaled to test and demonstrate communication across even greater distances to help lay the foundation for a quantum internet.”
Argonne also plans to develop a two-way quantum link network with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the Chicago suburbs. Connecting the two projects is expected to create one of the longest quantum pathways in the world for sending secure information.