Understanding and wielding the quantum properties of nature is the ambitious objective of eight research institutes that will collectively receive more than $290 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation. The investment is an expansion of the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes program, which NSF created in 2020 as part of the agency’s strategy to fulfill the 2018 “National Quantum Initiative Act.”

The U.S. National Science Foundation unveiled Project Triad, a pioneering initiative that seeks to integrate quantum sensing, quantum networking, and quantum computing int a single operational system. This project is built on three programs: NSF National Quantum Virtual Laboratory, NSF X-Labs, and NSF Quantum+X. Project Triad draws on NSF’s rigorous portfolio of quantum research programs, consolidating the latest discoveries for real-world testing.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected five new teams to design experimental quantum technologies. The teams will receive $20 million from NSF, and the projects will help build scientific testing and evaluation capabilities to integrate three broad areas of quantum science and technology, sensors, networks and computers, in a unified system that demonstrates functional quantum technologies for real-world applications.

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced $1.5 billion over the next decade to the NSF X-Labs initiative. The NSF X-Labs are independent teams of researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs that work on solving specific scientific challenges with milestone-based federal funding. The first round of funding invites proposals on scientific instrumentation for sensing and imaging alongside novel components for quantum systems. 

The U.S. National Science Foundation is investing up to $100 million to establish a nationwide network of open-access research facilities for quantum and nanoscale technologies, innovation, and workforce training. Through the new NSF National Quantum and Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NSF NQNI) program, NSF will support up to 16 sites over five years, providing students, researchers, and industry with access to state-of-the-art fabrication and characterization tools, instrumentation, and expertise.

(December 16, 2024) Realizing practical advantages from quantum-scale phenomena has been a long-sought milestone in quantum information science. The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced six pilot projects to bridge scientific gaps between current quantum technological capabilities and those needed to fully harness quantum properties of energy and matter for practical uses. Each pilot project will receive $1 million for phase one of a process to design and eventually implement testbeds for quantum technologies in real-world environments. These projects join five others that were announced in August 2024. These efforts are collectively supported by the NSF National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NSF NQVL) initiative, an ambitious program to accelerate the development of quantum technologies by providing researchers anywhere in the U.S. with access to specialized resources. NQVL project teams are led by quantum experts spanning academia, industry, national labs and government as well as others with diverse backgrounds.

(August 30, 2024) This week, NSF released an updated solicitation for the next phase of the Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes program. Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes (QLCI) are large-scale interdisciplinary research projects motivated by major challenges at the frontiers of quantum information science and technology. The establishment of new QLCI or the renewal of existing QLCI may be proposed in response to Solicitation NSF 24-599. Proposals in both cases will be considered in a single merit review process. The QLCI program directors will hold an informational webinar about the QLCI program solicitation NSF 24-599 on Tuesday, December 3rd, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. NSF program directors will describe the program and answer questions.

(July 1, 2024) The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a nearly $20 million award that will support the construction of a nanoscale fabrication facility to accelerate the co-design and development of atomic-photonic quantum devices, positioning the U.S. as a global leader in quantum science and engineering.