Recently, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a grant of US$38 million to the Expanding Capacity in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (ExpandQISE) program to increase funding for quantum information science and engineering. Engineering (QISE) support is funding cutting-edge research across 22 grants to advance QISE’s basic research and education efforts and increase institutional engagement and R&D capabilities
The U.S. National Quantum Initiative Act (NQI) was signed by then U.S. President Trump in December 2018, and the bill came into effect. Act to meet the needs of emerging fields, to ensure that the United States continues to maintain a global leadership in science and engineering. To this end, NSF developed the ExpandQISE program to lower barriers to entry and expand the diversity of participating institutions. The program helps to increase QISE research capacity at institutions across the United States that do not yet have significant QISE research and education. This support involves new collaborations between emerging research institutions and existing research centers such as the National Science Foundation's Quantum Leap Challenge Institute, the Department of Energy's National Research Centers, the National Science Foundation's Quantum Foundry, and leading QISE research institutions.
NSF awarded 22 grants totaling $38 million across disciplines including physics, computer science, materials research, engineering and chemistry. Among the 22 award-winning institutions are six historically black colleges and universities and three Hispanic-serving institutions. In addition, the five award-winning institutions are located in jurisdictions that participate in the EPSCoR program, which improves the research competitiveness of target states, regions or the commonwealth by strengthening science, technology, engineering and mathematics capabilities.
"Agencywide, NSFC is focused on making strategic investments to enhance access to and readiness for quantum education and to improve access to quantum education across the country, regions and jurisdictions," said James L. Moore III, assistant director for STEM Education. Interest and participation in quantum education by different groups. "Through these investments in quantum education, the institution is creating opportunity everywhere"
Track 1 awards are open to individual researchers working with institutions with extensive QISE experience. Winners will receive $800,000 over three years.
Projects receiving Track 1 funding:
Track 2 awards are open to teams of up to five people, paired with external research collaborators with extensive QISE research experience. Winners will receive up to $5 million over five years.
Projects receiving Track 2 funding:
The ExpandQISE program aims to enhance research capabilities and expand participation in QISE and related disciplines by building a diversified research and education portfolio, thereby enabling breakthroughs in science and engineering, while ensuring the development of a talent pipeline in the field because of the , the demand for talent in industry, government and academia will continue to exceed available talent.
The ExpandQISE program helps establish and maintain strong connections between new efforts and the impactful work of existing QISE centers in research, research training, education, outreach, and expanded engagement, including but not limited to the National Natural Science Foundation QLCI Institute, Department of Energy National Research Center, National Science Foundation Quantum Foundry, or leading QISE research institutions, while creating and cultivating the necessary critical mass for institutions that are not yet fully engaged in QISE. The goal of the National Natural Science Foundation of China is to engage more members of society in science. In keeping with this goal, institutions from EPSCoR jurisdictions are particularly encouraged to have more than 50% of their registered students come from groups currently underrepresented in science. Group agencies, such as Minority Serving Institutes (MSI), apply.
The ExpandQISE program coordinates with the Department of Energy (DOE) under an agreement between the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation during the implementation of the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018, including sharing application information, review processes, and project funding coordination.
DOE project managers can also recommend reviewers and attend review meetings as observers. Principal investigators submitting proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in response to this solicitation can expect that program managers from DOE will have access to the following information: Letter of Intent, White Paper, Proposal, Unsigned Review, and Review Panel Summary. DOE program managers can also recommend reviewers and attend review meetings as observers. Coordination with DOE will help avoid duplication of funding across agencies and help increase the breadth and impact of each agency's investments.
Reference links:
[1]https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/expanding-capacity-quantum-information-science
[2]https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/expanding-capacity-quantum-information-science