Collaborative Research: NRT-QL: A Program for Training a Quantum Workforce

量子信息科学与技术(QIST)的最新进展有望从根本上重塑当今的领先技术，包括计算、通信和传感。一支准备充分的劳动力队伍对于实现这一承诺至关重要。为了满足这一关键的劳动力需求，科罗拉多矿业学院(Mines)和圣何塞州立大学(SJSU)获得了国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖，以支持制定严格、综合、跨学科的培训计划，为硕士和博士生在QIST的职业生涯做准备。该计划由三个部分组成，旨在应对培训量子劳动力方面的关键挑战。首先，将开发新的培训材料，向来自不同学科的学生介绍QIST基础知识。学员将来自物理、电气工程、冶金和材料工程、应用数学和统计学、计算机科学和量子工程。第二，将与工业和国家实验室合作伙伴合作，为学员提供获得尖端技术和研究经验的机会。最后，将制定学生招募和辅导计划、无意识偏见培训、ALI研讨会和定期气候调查，以确保QIST劳动力的多样性。该项目将培训125名硕士和博士生，其中包括35名全额资助的学员。这些努力将导致一个制度化的计划，为学术界、工业、政府和国家实验室培养QIST的领导者。该研究计划解决了量子技术中的三大挑战：(1)如何利用现有的或近期的量子计算架构实现明显的量子加速？(2)材料和电气工程如何与量子技术相结合，在设备开发和制造方面提供有意义的进展？(3)量子算法的新方向如何推进和挑战量子技术可以解决用传统技术无法解决的问题的概念？这些跨学科的研究挑战需要基础物理、材料科学、电气工程和算法开发之间的密切协同。Mines和SJSU正在开发QIST的新课程和学位途径，其中包括将专业技能发展纳入研究生课程。通过课堂培训和研究，学员将接触到全方位的量子技术架构，提供这一快速发展领域的整体视角。Mines和SJSU之间的一项创新教育协议将为学生提供完成从SJSU到Mines的硕士/博士桥梁项目的机会。该计划将形成QIST研究生教育的模板，所有背景和类型的机构的STEM学生都可以进入，从而增加QIST的多样性。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革意义的STEM研究生教育培训模式。该计划致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致的综合实习生模式，在高度优先的跨学科或趋同研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Recent progress in quantum information science and technology (QIST) promises advances that will fundamentally reshape today’s leading technologies, including computing, communications, and sensing. A well-prepared workforce is essential to fulfilling this promise. In response to this critical workforce need, this National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) and San Jose State University (SJSU) supports the development of rigorous, integrated, interdisciplinary training programs preparing both Master’s and Doctoral students for careers in QIST. The program has three components that address key challenges in training a quantum workforce. First, new training materials will be developed to introduce QIST basics to students from different disciplines. Trainees will come from physics, electrical engineering, metallurgical and materials engineering, applied mathematics and statistics, computer science, and quantum engineering. Second, industrial and national lab partners will be engaged to provide trainees access to cutting-edge technologies and research experiences. Finally, student recruitment and mentoring programs, unconscious bias training, ally workshops, and regular climate surveys will be developed to ensure diversity in the QIST workforce. The project will train one-hundred and twenty-five (125) MS and Ph.D. students, including thirty-five (35) fully-funded trainees. These efforts will result in an institutionalized program that produces leaders in QIST for careers in academia, industry, government, and national labs. The research program addresses three grand challenges in quantum technology: (1) How can demonstrable quantum speed-up using existing or near-term quantum computing architectures be achieved? (2) How can materials and electrical engineering interface with quantum technology to provide meaningful advances in device development and fabrication? (3) How can new directions in quantum algorithms advance and challenge the notion that quantum technology can solve problems that are impossible to tackle with conventional technology? These interdisciplinary research challenges require close synergy between fundamental physics, materials science, electrical engineering, and algorithm development. New courses and degree pathways in QIST are being developed at both Mines and SJSU, which include integration of professional skills development into the graduate curriculum. Through classroom training and research, trainees will be exposed to the full range of quantum technology architectures, providing a holistic view of this rapidly developing field. An innovative educational agreement between Mines and SJSU will provide opportunities for students to complete an MS/Ph.D. bridge program from SJSU to Mines. The program will result in a template for QIST graduate education, which will be accessible to STEM students from all backgrounds and types of institutions, increasing diversity in QIST. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.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.