Energy Issues Over $9M in Quantum Research Funding

Federal funding initiatives for quantum technology research and development aren’t slowing down, with the Department of Energy releasing $9.1 million to fund 13 projects that marry quantum information science research with nuclear physics. 

Award funding is distributed across a diverse number of projects, located within and outside of the U.S. Their focuses span utilizing quantum information sciences and physics technologies to construct innovative systems that support advanced qubit technology—the basic units of measurement within a quantum computing system—to applying quantum learning for accelerated nuclear data analytics. 

“Although we are just beginning to develop the knowledge and technology needed to power a revolutionary paradigm shift to quantum computing, there is a clear line of sight on how to proceed,” said Tim Hallman, DOE associate director of science for nuclear physics. “These awards will contribute to advancing nuclear physics research and to pressing future quantum computing developments forward.”

Quantum information sciences and related technologies have received sizable attention from scientists and policymakers as an emerging technology with the potential to innovate and disrupt multiple sectors. This has translated to increases in funding initiatives, corresponding legislation and new international partnerships, as nations sprint toward leading development in the burgeoning quantum technology field.

Energy’s latest round of funding goes toward more specific interdisciplinary research between QIS and nuclear physics. Travis Humble, the director of the Quantum Science Center, told Nextgov that there is a strong overlap in studying and controlling atomic nuclei with some QIS topics. 

“Several quantum technologies, including trapped ions, neutral atoms and doped silicon, use individual nuclei for processing quantum information,” he said. 

Humble added that one of the more popular and advanced forms of quantum sciences—quantum computing—should be able to solve complex problems in modeling atomic nuclei, specifically looking at their composing protons and neutrons. 

“There are hopes that quantum computers would generally improve the verification and optimization of complex designs,” he said. 

Some of the projects selected to receive funding will be looking to improve precision measurements of nuclear decays via powerful quantum sensors and computing projects, exploring the nuclear physics problems Humble alludes to. 

The $9.1 million in project funding was dispersed under Energy’s Quantum Horizons: QIS Research and Innovation for Nuclear Science funding program.