National Quantum Virtual Laboratory Gets $16 M From NSF
The NSF Quantum Virtual Laboratory
National Quantum Virtual Laboratory Design and Development Receive Millions from NSF
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is accelerating its proposal to construct the first National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) to democratise access to cutting-edge quantum technologies in the US. After spending $5 million in exploratory trial projects, the NSF has awarded $16 million to four teams building the NQVL's high-tech infrastructure to improve nationwide access to these game-changing innovations.
National Quantum Virtual Laboratory NQVL anchors the NSF's mission to help the US attain “quantum advantage” using quantum technologies to solve complex problems for society. This virtual laboratory is a shared national resource that may overcome the spatial limits of traditional brick-and-mortar institutions and welcomes any qualified US researcher or student. It seeks to combine theory, experimentation, and business acumen from academia, business, and government to promote quantum computing applications.
Starting Design: $16 Million Investment
The NSF awarded $16 million to four teams to design the NQVL's core components, a major step forward. Each team gets $4 million over two years. These design approaches aim to make quantum software and hardware, which are highly specialised and concentrated in a few facilities, more accessible.
Networked, shared quantum computers that researchers may manage remotely and a “digital twin”—a dynamic copy of a quantum computer—are major design projects. This digital twin lets American researchers test and develop quantum algorithms virtually.
Brian Stone, NSF director, stressed that these efforts are necessary to translate fundamental quantum physics leadership into tangible technologies, goods, and systems, ensuring U.S. competitiveness and dominance for decades.
Four teams were selected for this design phase:
Quantum Advantage Class Trapped Ions System. Quantum Computing with Photonics. A wide-area quantum network shows quantum advantage. Open-Stack Rydberg Atom Quantum Computing Laboratory. Each team includes higher education institutions, over 20 industrial partners, and US federal agencies like the Department of Energy, Department of Defence, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and NASA. Industry partners QuEra, NVIDIA, J.P. Morgan, and IonQ demonstrate ecosystem collaboration. This comprehensive approach follows the NSF's goal to implement the 2018 "National Quantum Initiative Act" advancements. A second wave of design teams is planned for 2025, and extra funding for the lab's implementation phase is expected if legislative funds are made.
Foundational Pilot Projects
The current design phase builds on a $5 million foundational commitment in August 2024 for five pilot projects. This initial investment was meant to demonstrate early quantum capabilities and focus on exploratory investigations to build the National Quantum Virtual LaboratoryNQVL. The teams from this initial phase were asked to apply for funding through the Quantum Science and Technology Demonstrations (QSTD) as a step towards the current design phase: II. Design/implementation plan.
The first five pilots were:
With Columbia University, Yale University, and Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University led the effort to establish a 10-node, long-distance quantum network. Distributed quantum computing and quantum communication were used to demonstrate quantum advantage and provide safe, private long-distance communication. Duke University lead the 256-qubit ion trap quantum computing system project QACTI. Tufts, NC State, NC A&T, and Chicago were its partners. The internet-controlled device was designed to perform several quantum computations and simulations. Deep Learning on Programmable Quantum Computers (DLPQC): The Massachusetts Institute of Technology led a team that worked with Harvard University, the University of California Los Angeles, and the University of Maryland to develop error-corrected quantum computing platforms with more than 100 qubits. The purpose was to enable complex many-body analysis for chemistry, advanced materials, and physics. Q-SAIL: The University of California Los Angeles directed this effort to construct quantum sensors employing two-dimensional trapped-ion arrays. University of Delaware, California Institute of Technology, and Boston University spearheaded it. Sensors for terahertz imaging in astronomy, medicine, navigation, telecommunications, and other fields have great promise to advance frequency metrology. QCAP: Quantum Computing Applications of Photonics Quantum Computing Applications of Photonics (QCAP), led by the University of New Mexico and involving New Mexico State University, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Skorpios Technologies Inc., and Hoonify Technologies Inc., used monolithically integrated quantum photonics to develop quantum computers on chips. Final goal was to commercialise this technology through industry collaborations.
An Accelerator for Quantum Workforce and National Competitiveness
In addition to research, the NQVL aims to boost the American quantum technology workforce. The laboratory will help the NSF fulfil the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act's goal of making the US a leader in quantum technology by providing training and educational materials for the next generation of quantum experts. “U.S. competitiveness hinges on accelerating the translation of technological innovations into the market and society and training the American workforce for the jobs of tomorrow,” said NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Erwin Gianchandani.
The NQVL provides the unique architecture needed to attain quantum advantage, acknowledging that iterative quantum technology development sometimes requires early deployment. NSF Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Denise Caldwell, who is acting, accurately states that NQVL will “surmount the limitations inherent in using solely brick-and-mortar facilities” by being available to eligible researchers and students nationwide.
The National Quantum Virtual Laboratory NQVL is an unrivalled resource for quantum information research in the US due to the NSF's strategic investment and scientists' and industry experts' engagement. This alliance advances quantum technology and workforce development. Creating a unified national highway for innovation allows different research projects to readily interact and work together, speeding up the process of turning scientific findings into useful applications.