NSF Invests an Additional $38M to Expand Participation in QISE

(August 15, 2023) The National Science Foundation today announced $38 million of new funding for 22 projects involving 47 institutions to enable development of sustainable research and education efforts in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE), leading to increased participation, capacity building, and increased participation and capacity building toward reaching a critical mass of research and education.

Including last year’s first edition and the current competition, the ExpandQISE program now funds a total of 33 projects with a budget of $62.4M. Funding includes 8 awards to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 8 awards to institutions in EPSCOR jurisdictions, 6 awards to Hispanic Serving Institutions, and 28 awards to non-R1 institutions. All awards are related to quantum research through addressing at least one of topical Focus Areas of Quantum Fundamentals, Quantum Metrology and Control, or Co-Design and Quantum Systems. Every award includes aspects of Education and Workforce development. The capacity building effort is based on creating local research and education infrastructure enabled by close coupling of the Lead Institution of each Award with an external collaborator representing existing, established, and impactful efforts in QISE, usually located in an R-1 Institution, National Laboratory, or one of Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes.

A press release is available at https://new.nsf.gov/news/more-institutions-participate-quantum-science.

More information about the ExpandQISE program is available at https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/expanding-capacity-quantum-information-science.