CREST Center for Research and Education in Quantum Leap Science and Technology

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Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program supports the enhancement of research capabilities of minority-serving institutions through the establishment of centers that effectively integrate education and research. CREST promotes the development of new knowledge, enhancements of the research productivity of individual faculty, and an expanded presence of students historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. With National Science Foundation support, Norfolk State University intends to establish a multidisciplinary CREST Center for Research and Education in Quantum Leap Science and Technology (CREQS) for development of new quantum-based technology and for the education of the 21st century quantum science workforce with emphasis on the production of scientists and engineers from groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines. The proposed center will expand access to science education for students underrepresented in STEM fields; foster outreach to the local community and introduce quantum related science to the general public. Successful implementation of this work will advance discovery in emergent quantum technology and result in the development of K12, undergraduate and graduate students. The goal of the CREST Center for Research and Education in Quantum Leap Science and Technology is to investigate and develop materials, phenomena, and manufacturing techniques for fabrication of next-generation quantum devices. This goal is intended to be accomplished using three synergistic research thrusts. Thrust 1 will focus on discovery and synthesis of new topological quantum materials including chiral structured semimetals that are predicted to host Dirac, Weyl and Majorana fermions. The work will include an intensive materials synthesis effort, combined with fundamental investigations of their magnetic, optical, and transport properties. Thrust 2 will explore quantum plasmonic effects that involve spin angular momentum transfer from light to matter, as well as strongly confined and structured optical fields which can result in new ways for light and matter to be controlled at the nanoscale. Thrust 3 will focus on integration of quantum- and nanomaterials into nanoscale devices by combining the fundamental materials properties knowledge obtained in Thrusts 1 and 2 with the advanced manufacturing facilities available in the NSU 6,000 square foot class 100/1000 cleanroom. This will allow development of novel techniques for integration of fermionic quantum materials, spintronic magnetic materials, and materials with unforeseen properties into high precision quantum devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.