Supporting Minority Serving Institutions in the Creation of a Diverse, Quantum-Ready Workforce

非技术性2018年国家量子倡议法案认识到联邦政府对量子信息科学和工程(QISE)研究提供战略协调支持的重要性，以保持经济竞争力、维护国家安全和推动变革性科学进步。这立即加快了这个已经快速发展的领域的步伐，因此，对训练有素的量子工程师的需求激增。为了满足这些劳动力需求并保持全球竞争力，美国必须培养越来越多的量子工程师和科学家。这需要超越现有的管道，向更广泛的社区提供同等的资源。成功取决于认识到少数族裔服务机构(MSI)的关键作用和面临的障碍，这些机构培训了大量获得STEM领域学士学位的人数不足的学生。为此，设计了一系列题为支持少数群体服务机构建立一支多样化的、具备量子能力的劳动力队伍的讲习班，目的是制定一项战略，以帮助扩大对QISE的参与。主题包括确定量子劳动力需求，访问为量子研究提供专门设备的全国性设施的协议，开发专门的量子课程和学术计划，以及与行业发展战略合作伙伴关系的机会。技术本系列研讨会旨在促进少数族裔服务机构(MSI)的量子信息科学与工程(QISE)研究和教育计划。该系列包括两个为期两天的讲习班，计划于2021年10月(虚拟，由科罗拉多矿业学院主办)和2022年2月(由波多黎各大学马亚圭斯大学在PR的圣胡安主办)。这些活动吸引了来自全国大学、行业和国家实验室的约80名QISE研究人员参加，目的是通过邀请讲座和有指导的分组讨论会议相结合，培养支持MSI参与QISE并取得成功的创新想法。实现这一点的方法是，首先确定MSI面临的阻碍其参与QISE的优势和障碍，以及通过提高MSI的研究竞争力来增加代表不足群体中的量子科学家数量的机制。为此，活动还包括宣传专门的资源：提案撰写培训机会、量子计算设施，以及用于量子设备生长、制造和测量的全国用户设施。第一期讲习班为提出有竞争力的创新计划以实现这些目标的选定团体提供种子资金；这些团体随后在第二次会议期间报告其进展情况。结果包括实施了几项新的倡议和一份白皮书，总结了挖掘出的障碍，并规定了新的活动，以推动未被充分代表的少数群体参与QISE的持续增加。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-technicalThe 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act recognized the importance of strategic, federally coordinated support for quantum information sciences and engineering (QISE) research to maintain economic competitiveness, sustain national security, and fuel transformative scientific advancement. This immediately accelerated the pace of an already rapidly advancing field and, consequently, surged the demands for trained quantum engineers. To satisfy these workforce needs and remain globally competitive, the U.S. must train an increasing number of quantum engineers and scientists. This requires reaching beyond the existing pipelines and providing equal resources to a broader range of communities. Success relies on recognizing the critical role and understanding the barriers faced by Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), which train a disproportionately large number of underrepresented students who earn bachelor's degrees in STEM fields. To this end, a series of workshops entitled Supporting Minority Serving Institutions in the Creation of a Diverse, Quantum-Ready Workforce have been designed to prescribe a strategy to help broaden participation in QISE. Topics include identifying quantum workforce needs, protocols to gain access to nationwide facilities offering specialized equipment for quantum research, development of specialized quantum courses and academic programs, and opportunities to develop strategic partnerships with industry.TechnicalThis workshop series is designed to facilitate quantum information science and engineering (QISE) research and educational programs at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The series consists of two two-day workshops, which are scheduled for October 2021 (virtual, hosted by the Colorado School of Mines) and February 2022 (hosted in San Juan, PR by the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez). Engaging ~80 QISE researchers from universities, industry, and national labs nationwide, the goal of these events is to cultivate innovative ideas for bolstering MSI participation and success in QISE through a combination of invited talks and guided breakout group discussion sessions. This is achieved by first identifying strengths and obstacles faced by MSIs that hinder their participation in QISE as well as mechanisms to boost the number of quantum scientists from underrepresented groups by means of raising the research competitiveness of MSIs. To this end, activities also include advertising specialized resources: proposal-writing training opportunities, quantum computing facilities, and nationwide user facilities for growth, fabrication, and measurement of quantum devices. The first workshop provides seed funding to select groups who present competitive, innovative plans to achieve these goals; these groups subsequently report on their progress during the second meeting. Outcomes include implementation of several new initiatives and a whitepaper summarizing the unearthed barriers and prescribing novel activities to fuel sustained increases in the participation of underrepresented minorities in QISE.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.