Quantum Networks Training and Research Alliance in the Southeast

东南部量子网络培训和研究联盟

• 批准号: 2152159
• 负责人: Yohannes Abate
• 金额: $ 150万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-01 至 2027-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2152159&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Quantum; Networks; Training; Research; Alliance

Quantum networks enable more efficient information processing, promising functionality that is faster and more secure than the classical networks that undergird current communication technologies. Research on quantum networks has the potential to contribute to fundamental discoveries in quantum science as well as key applications in cybersecurity, quantum sensors, and quantum computing. However, to realize the promised advantages of a quantum Internet, many fundamental science and engineering challenges must be overcome. Tackling these challenges will require a convergence of expertise from science and engineering disciplines and the development of a well-trained, interdisciplinary quantum networks workforce. The overarching goal of this NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) project is to advance the design and development of components and applications of quantum networks, and to establish the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary quantum information science and engineering (QISE) training program in the Southeast. Representing a collaboration between the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, this training program is expected to serve fifty-four masters and doctoral students, including thirty-four funded trainees in science and engineering.This project will carry out quantum networks research in three key areas. The first centers on quantum network building blocks: single photon emitters, qubit realization, quantum photon measurement, quantum information theory, and cybersecurity. The second encompasses quantum devices: networked quantum computing, networked quantum sensors, and materials for quantum network components. The third area considers scientific and engineering applications: space-based entangled photon sources, quantum random number generators, the power grid, quantum resource estimation, and on-chip technology. These three research thrusts will be bridged by three cross-disciplinary research perspectives: experimentation, simulation, and engineering. The training program and workforce development will significantly contribute to fulfilling the pressing need for a skilled QISE workforce in academia, national laboratories, and industry. It will include components uniquely designed to increase the involvement of diverse students in QISE. It will strengthen existing ties that the two collaborating institutions have with historically black colleges and universities, and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Leadership and Academic Enhancement Program, for robust recruitment, mentoring, and retention of women and minority students from groups underrepresented in the field. In addition, it will engage potential undergraduate recruits with QISE topics via introductory QISE courses that can be taken for credit across institutions. This traineeship model will create an interdisciplinary, workforce-aligned program integrating experimental, simulational, and engineering experiential learning to galvanize a diverse community of graduate students toward careers in QISE.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.

量子网络能够实现更高效的信息处理，承诺的功能比支撑当前通信技术的经典网络更快、更安全。对量子网络的研究有可能促进量子科学的基础发现，以及在网络安全、量子传感器和量子计算方面的关键应用。然而，要实现量子互联网的承诺优势，必须克服许多基础科学和工程挑战。应对这些挑战将需要融合科学和工程学科的专业知识，并发展一支训练有素、跨学科的量子网络劳动力队伍。NSF研究培训船(NRT)项目的总体目标是推进量子网络组件和应用的设计和开发，并建立东南地区第一个跨学科的综合量子信息科学与工程(QISE)培训计划。作为佐治亚大学和田纳西大学诺克斯维尔分校的合作项目，该培训项目预计将服务于54名硕士和博士生，其中包括34名科学和工程方面的受训学生。该项目将在三个关键领域开展量子网络研究。第一个集中在量子网络构建模块：单光子发射器、量子比特实现、量子光子测量、量子信息理论和网络安全。第二个领域包括量子设备：联网的量子计算、联网的量子传感器和用于量子网络组件的材料。第三个领域考虑科学和工程应用：基于空间的纠缠光子源、量子随机数发生器、电网、量子资源估计和芯片技术。这三个研究推动力将由三个跨学科的研究视角连接起来：实验、模拟和工程。培训计划和劳动力发展将大大有助于满足学术界、国家实验室和工业对熟练QISE劳动力的迫切需求。它将包括独特设计的组件，以增加不同学生在QISE中的参与。它将加强这两个合作机构与历史上一直是黑人的学院和大学以及路易斯·斯托克斯少数族裔参与联盟(LSAMP)领导力和学术提升计划的现有联系，以大力招聘、指导和留住来自该领域代表性不足群体的女性和少数族裔学生。此外，它还将通过QISE入门课程吸引潜在的本科生学习QISE主题，这些课程可以在各院校获得学分。这种培训模式将创建一个跨学科的、以劳动力为导向的计划，整合实验、模拟和工程经验学习，以激励不同的研究生社区在QISE就业。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施STEM研究生教育培训的大胆、新的、潜在的变革性模式。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。