Early this year, the U.S. Department of Energy sent out a call for proposals as it announced it would award up to $625 million in funding over the next five years to establish multidisciplinary National Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research Centers. These awards would support the National Quantum Initiative Act, passed in 2018 to accelerate the development of quantum science and information technology applications.
Now, MIT is a partner institute on two QIS Research Centers that the Department of Energy has selected for funding.
One of the centers, the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA), will be led by Brookhaven National Laboratory. MIT participation in this center will be coordinated by Professor Isaac Chuang through the Center for Theoretical Physics.
The other center, the Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA), will be led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) and MIT Lincoln Laboratory are partners on this center. Professor William Oliver, a Lincoln Laboratory fellow and director of the Center for Quantum Engineering, and Eric Dauler, who leads the Quantum Information and Integrated Nanosystems Group at Lincoln Laboratory, will coordinate MIT research activities with this center.
“Quantum information science and engineering research is a core strength at MIT, ranging broadly from algorithms and molecular chemistry to atomic and superconducting qubits, as well as quantum gravity and the foundations of computer science. This new funding from the Department of Energy will connect ongoing vibrant MIT research in quantum information with teams seeking to harness and discover quantum technologies,” says Chuang.
Source: “MIT partners with national labs on two new National Quantum Information Science Research Centers”, MIT News Office
