ExpandQISE: Track 2: Developing Research and Education Programs in Quantum Information Science and Engineering with Research on Locally Tunable 2D Topological Superconductors

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Non-technical Description:In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in quantum information science and engineering (QISE), particularly for quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum communications and quantum simulations. With the rapidly expanding interest and investment, education and workforce development efforts in QISE are becoming increasingly critical, particularly in the country's rural regions. This five-year project is designed to develop research and education capacities in the emerging field of QISE at the University of Wyoming through close collaboration with Purdue University, where QISE research and education programs are established and productive. This project contains two essential components: 1) conducting a cutting-edge research project of exploring exotic properties (for example, topological superconductivity) of two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials for next-generation quantum computers; and 2) developing education programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels for future workforce in QISE at the University of Wyoming. This collaborative effort is expected to break the existing barrier, increase participation, and build the critical mass of research and education in QISE in Wyoming, thus maintaining its economic competitiveness and fueling transformative scientific advancement.Technical Description:Developing novel quantum technologies for future advanced computing has been an urgent need and a technology race worldwide. To maintain economic competitiveness, sustain national security, and fuel transformative scientific advancement in a time of rapidly expanding interest and investment in QISE, relevant education and sustainable workforce development efforts are becoming increasingly critical. In collaboration with Purdue University, where QISE research and education programs are established and productive, a team from the University of Wyoming is undertaking this important and critical task. This collaborative activity develops methodologies to manipulate the coupling between electronic, structural, and topological degrees of freedom in atomically thin topological superconductors and to design and fabricate novel topological Josephson junction architectures for future fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. Theoretical analysis and modeling further enable the fundamental understanding of the physics of topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions at the 2D limit. This collaborative project also establishes the necessary infrastructures for developing the future workforce in QISE at the University of Wyoming by developing new degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, recruiting new faculty, and constructing state-of-the-art facilities. The team further pursues mutual interactions with industry and national laboratory partners to offer research/education opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students. The academic degree programs and workforce development plan provide unique research and educational experiences for Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science students at the University of Wyoming. This collaborative effort is expected to set up a national educational model for expanding QISE-related research and education activities in the country’s rural regions and/or institutions with no or underdeveloped QISE programs.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.