The National Science Foundation has awarded $3 million to establish a NSF Research Traineeship at the 蘑菇视频 for graduate students in quantum information science and technology, or QIST. Research in QIST includes the development of quantum computers, which hold the promise of performing computations far faster than today鈥檚 computers, as well as of fundamentally secure communication systems and simulations of new materials with novel and potentially revolutionary properties.
All QIST pursuits exploit the complex, probability-based principles of quantum mechanics, which underlie the behavior and properties of matter. QIST ventures bring together scientists with diverse areas of expertise 鈥� including physics, chemistry, computer science, electrical engineering and materials science. And while diversity is a strength of this dynamic field, it is also a reason to develop a formal training program for budding QIST researchers.
鈥淪ome fields, like physics, have been dealing with quantum mechanics for a long time; for others, it鈥檚 a relatively new concept to bring into lecture halls and research laboratories,鈥� said , the principal investigator and director of the new traineeship, a 蘑菇视频 associate professor of physics and of electrical and computer engineering, and a researcher with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 鈥淲e are creating this core educational and training framework so graduate students in these diverse fields can gain the knowledge and skills they need for futures in QIST, while also remaining grounded in their respective fields.鈥�
The new traineeship 鈥� known as Accelerating Quantum-Enabled Technologies, or AQET 鈥� will make the 蘑菇视频 one of just 鈥渁 handful鈥� of universities with a formal, interdisciplinary QIST curriculum, added Fu, who also co-chairs the steering committee for QIST research on campus and is a faculty member with the 蘑菇视频 , the and the .
Initial NSF funds will support the traineeship through one year of development and student recruitment, as well as its first four years of operation. Main features of the AQET traineeship will be:
- Student cohorts recruited each year among doctoral programs in the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Physics, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering
- Fellowships for some AQET trainees from the NSF or other sources during the program鈥檚 approximately 18-month duration
- Developing and launching a set of foundational QIST courses for AQET students, which will also be open to other 蘑菇视频 graduate and undergraduate students
- A six- to nine-month capstone project
- Outreach efforts to recruit female students
The core courses include several already taught at the 蘑菇视频, such as in physics, as well as new ones to introduce additional QIST topics to students from diverse disciplines.
鈥淨IST involves many different contributions from science and engineering departments on university campuses, and we鈥檝e all come together speaking different 鈥榣anguages鈥� from our home disciplines,鈥� said Fu. 鈥淪o we want this foundational coursework to ground students in a common framework for approaching and talking about QIST concepts and principles.鈥�
One course, for example, is a project-based introduction to quantum computing. Using IBM and Microsoft cloud quantum computing platforms, students will explore what is currently possible in information storage and retrieval in quantum computing and apply that knowledge to their own background in science and engineering.
鈥淪omeone with a computer science background can see and understand the current limitations in nascent quantum computing, while a student in materials science can see and understand how important material properties are to the performance of these devices,鈥� said Fu.
The AQET capstone project will allow students to pursue their own research interests in QIST after the foundational coursework. It can be conducted at the 蘑菇视频 or at a collaborating research institution, university or company. Some potential collaborators already partner with the 蘑菇视频 in QIST endeavors, such as the founded by the 蘑菇视频, Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
鈥淲e are open to lots of options for these partnerships, because ultimately our goal is to be flexible in response to student interests,鈥� said Fu. 鈥淭he AQET traineeship will complement the students鈥� education and research in their respective doctoral programs, and ultimately prepare them for jobs in industries that increasingly demand QIST knowledge and experience.鈥�
Co-principal investigators on AQET are , 蘑菇视频 associate professor of chemistry; , 蘑菇视频 professor of computer science and engineering; , 蘑菇视频 assistant professor of physics and of electrical and computer engineering; and , a researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and a 蘑菇视频 affiliate assistant professor of physics. Cossairt and Majumdar are also faculty researchers with the Clean Energy Institute, and Majumdar is a faculty researcher with the Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute and the Institute for Nano-engineered Systems.
For more information, contact Fu at kaimeifu@uw.edu.