Department of Energy

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.

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 Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Aug. 26, 2020: The Department of Energy has selected Oak Ridge National Laboratory to lead a collaboration charged with developing quantum technologies that will usher in a new era of innovation. The Quantum Science Center, led by Oak Ridge, will receive $115 million over five years to realize the potential of topological quantum materials for manipulating, transferring and storing quantum information. Fermilab is a partner organization in the Quantum Science Center.

From University of Chicago, Aug. 26, 2020: The Department of Energy is establishing five new National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, including a center led by Argonne and a center led by Fermilab, which are each projected to receive $115 million in funding over the next five years. The Fermilab-led center, called the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center, aims to build and deploy a beyond-state-of-the-art quantum computer based on superconducting technologies. The center also will develop new quantum sensors, which could lead to the discovery of the nature of dark matter and other elusive subatomic particles.

Funding will go towards NSF-led AI Research Institutes and DOE QIS Research Centers over five years, establishing 12 multidisciplinary and multi-institutional national hubs for research and workforce development in these critical emerging technologies. Together, the institutes will spur cutting-edge innovation, support regional economic growth and advance American leadership in these critical industries of the future.

From the Department of Energy, Aug. 17, 2020: Seven DOE national laboratories, including Fermilab, will lead a total of 14 projects aimed at both automating facility operations and managing data modeling, acquisition, mining, and analysis for the interpretation of experimental results. The projects involve large X-ray light sources, neutron scattering sources, particle accelerators and nanoscale science research centers.

From HIT Infrastructure, July 30, 2020: The Department of Energy has unveiled a blueprint strategy for national quantum internet within the next decade to usher in an era of more secure communication, with health services slated to be early adopters. Already, scientists from Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago intertwined photons across a 52-mile quantum loop. That network will soon be connected to Fermilab, creating three-node, 80-mile test bed.

From CTOvision.com, July 27, 2020: The U.S. Department of Energy has unveiled a report that lays out a blueprint strategy for the development of a national quantum internet, bringing the United States to the forefront of the global quantum race and ushering in a new era of communications.

From The Science Times, July 25, 2020: The Department of Energy officials unveiled a blueprint strategy for a national quantum internet. The DOE is working with university and industry researchers, aiming to develop a prototype within this decade.

From New Atlas, July 26, 2020: The United States government is outlining its own plans to develop a national quantum internet. The blueprint was developed at a meeting in February by the DOE national laboratories, various universities and industry. The report lays out four areas of research that should be made a priority in order to develop the quantum internet and outlines five milestones that will mark the path toward making it a reality.