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From WTTW, Sept. 1, 2020: Chicago appears to be at the center of a quantum acceleration, with the Department of Energy announcing that two of five new national quantum research centers will be in the Chicago area – at Fermilab and Argonne. Each will receive $115 million over the next five years to further their research. Watch Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center Director Anna Grassellino in this 6-minute television segment.

From University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aug. 26, 2020: The Grainger College of Engineering’s Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center is a partner institution in two of the five Department of Energy Quantum Information Science Research Centers, announced by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on August 26.
The two centers, Fermilab-based Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center and Argonne-based Q-NEXT will be each be funded at $115 million over five years.

From Ames Laboratory, Aug. 26, 2020: Ames Laboratory is a key partner in the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center, led by Fermilab and part of the DOE Quantum Science Initiative announced by the White House. Fermilab has been awarded $115 million over five years for a National Quantum Information Science Research Center to build a revolutionary quantum computer prototype.

From Nextgov, Aug. 26, 2020: Department of Energy Undersecretary Paul Dabbar discusses how, through quantum computers, humanity will tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges. DOE has established five new quantum information science centers at its national labs with funding of over $965 million, including $625 million in authorized funding from the DOE over five years, and over $340 million from the center participants.

While we’ve known about neutron stars for the better part of a century, astrophysicists still aren’t entirely sure how large they are. That uncertainty is related to two other unanswered questions: What’s in the middle of neutron stars, and how massive can they grow? Astrophysicists are combining multiple methods to reveal the secrets of some of the weirdest objects in the universe.

From La Repubblica, Aug. 27, 2020: Le chiamano scienze dure: matematica, fisica, ingegneria. E serve un impegno enorme, per arrivare ai vertici. Anna Grassellino da Marsala, classe 1981, ne è un esempio. Il suo campo è la superconduttività a radiofrequenza. Il Department of Energy americano le ha appena messo in mano 115 milioni di dollari per realizzare il nuovo centro di calcolo quantistico che si chiama Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center, Sqms per dirlo in modo semplice.

From Illinois Institute of Technology, Aug. 26, 2020: Illinois Institute of Technology has been named a partner with Fermilab’s Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center, which has a goal of building and operating a new quantum computer that could be millions of times more powerful than modern supercomputers.

From the Department of Energy, Aug. 28, 2020: The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the U.S. Department of Energy announced the members of the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee, which will counsel the Administration on ways to ensure continued American leadership in quantum information science. Fermilab Deputy Director Joe Lykken is one of the members.

From Northwestern University, Aug. 26, 2020: Fermilab has been selected to lead one of five national centers to bring about transformational advances in quantum information science as a part of the U.S. National Quantum Initiative. Northwestern University is a major partner in the new center. The materials science and physics faculty, combined with the University’s cryogenic and materials characterization facilities, will play a central role in research to improve the performance of superconducting qubits and microwave cavities for quantum computing and sensing applications.

From The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 26, 2020: The White House announced that federal agencies and their private sector partners are committing more than $1 billion over the next five years to establish 12 new research institutes focused on artificial intelligence and quantum information sciences. The Energy Department will supervise and invest $625 million in the five centers focused on quantum information sciences, including one led by Fermilab.