NSF Grants $26M to Institutions to Establish Center for Quantum Networks

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding an initiative to establish the Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) as part of its Engineering Research Center project. The five-year project will be led by the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University, with support from Harvard University, MIT, Yale University, Brigham Young University, Howard University, the University of Chicago, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University of Oregon. The project, which will begin in October, is funded through a $26 million grant with an additional $24.6 million renewal option.

An optical communication chip. Courtesy of Jacob Chinn/University of Arizona Alumni Association.

The CQN is intended to lay the foundations of the quantum internet. A major focus of the CQN team will be research to advance key underlying technologies, including fundamental quantum materials and devices, the quantum and classical processing required at a network node, and quantum network protocols and architectures.

Additionally, the CQN will investigate the impact of a future quantum internet on education, workforce development, innovation, and society. The White House National Quantum Coordination Office recently underscored the importance of the field by issuing “A Strategic Vision for America’s Quantum Networks.”

As part of the NSF’s fourth generation of the Engineering Research Center program, CQN’s mandate goes beyond creating a quantum internet; the initiative is also focused on the education and workforce needs to propel the quantum internet age.