(November 12, 2024) The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released an initial public draft report on transitioning to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards. This report describes NIST’s expected approach to transitioning from quantum-vulnerable cryptographic algorithms to post-quantum digital signature algorithms and key-establishment schemes. It identifies existing quantum-vulnerable cryptographic standards and the current quantum-resistant standards that will be used in the migration. The report also provides dates for the deprecating and disallowing of several algorithms currently used for digital signatures and key establishment. This report should inform the efforts and timelines of federal agencies, industry, and standards organizations for migrating information technology products, services, and infrastructure to PQC.

(November 1, 2024) The Quantum Biomedical Innovations and Technologies (Qu-BIT) Program has announced that Informational webinars for the NIH Quantum Sensing Technology Prize Challenge and the NIH Quantum Computing Prize Challenge will be held on November 13th. In these webinars the following will be covered:
(1) Technological Background, (2) Challenge Overview and Rules, (3) Timeline and Prizes, (4) Eligibility Requirements and Submission Instructions, and (5) FAQ and Contact Information. To join the webinar, please register using the links below. Meeting details will be provided once registered.

(October 24, 2024) The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) at the U.S. Department of Energy has announced a new program that will pioneer novel approaches to studying chemistry and materials using quantum computing. The Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry (QC³) program allocates $30 million to support the research and development of scalable, generalizable quantum computing approaches to computational chemistry and materials science which can lead to significant energy impact or reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

(September 30, 2024) The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the ‘FY 2025 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program’. This NOFO is the annual open solicitation that covers all research areas in SC and is open throughout the Fiscal Year. Funding opportunities in quantum information science (QIS) are included throughout SC program areas including Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR), Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES), High Energy Physics (HEP), and Nuclear Physics (NP).

(September 9, 2024) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $65 million in funding for 10 projects in Accelerated Research in Quantum Computing, comprising a total of 38 separate awards. This investment targets end-to-end software toolchains to program and control quantum systems at scale, quantum algorithms delivering quantum advantage, and resilience through error detection, prevention, protection, mitigation, and correction. Advancements in these key component areas will demonstrate quantum computing’s utility for scientific research problems in DOE’s mission space by improving all levels of the software stack.

(September 6, 2024) A new rule regarding export controls for advanced technologies, including quantum technologies, has been published in the Federal Register. A brief summary of the key items of interest for quantum technologies is captured below. The controls are effective September 6, 2024, though there is a 60-day delay for some quantum related controls; see the links below for details.

(September 6, 2024) Today, the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee published its second independent assessment on the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) program, focusing on quantum networking and the role that testbeds play in research and development of quantum networking technologies. The report, titled Quantum Networking: Findings and Recommendations for Growing American Leadership identifies six findings and seven recommendations: