(June 8, 2023) A new report from the National Academies, with support from DOE and NSF, looks at the promise of using chemistry to push past current limits of QIS, and how QIS, in turn, can solve problems in chemistry. In particular, well-designed molecular qubits could open a new class of memory storage that would revolutionize computing, strengthen encryption, and enhance quantum sensing, among other applications. The report identifies opportunities in three areas of QIS and chemistry research; (1) design and synthesis of molecular qubit systems; (2) measurement and control of molecular quantum systems; and (3) experimental and computational approaches for scaling qubit design and function. The report details targeted research priorities in each area to advance the field in the near future.

(October 5, 2021) Today the Subcommittee on the Economic and Security Implications of Quantum Science released its first report. The report titled “The Role of International Talent in Quantum Information Science,” highlights the critical role that international talent plays in ensuring a vibrant and successful U.S. research enterprise in QIST, including the importance of close collaboration with foreign partners, while also stressing the importance of protecting the technology and expertise of the United States and our international partners. It finds that maintaining a strong flow of international students and researchers is an essential component to developing the expert QIST workforce required to achieve U.S. QIST goals as part of an advancing global research enterprise.

A team of researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, along with external collaborators, has taken an important step toward developing efficient quantum communications networks that connect quantum devices while preserving the delicate states of the particles used to transmit information by harnessing the frequency, or color, of light. Such capabilities could contribute to more practical and large-scale quantum networks exponentially more powerful and secure than the classical networks we have today.