Jane Edwards
The National Science Foundation has asked colleges to submit proposals for a program that seeks to develop foundries to facilitate the prototyping and development of quantum devices and materials.
NSF said it plans to award between $20M to $25M in funds to up to five recipients through cooperative agreements to perform work under the Enabling Quantum Leap: Convergent Accelerated Discovery Foundries for Quantum Materials Science, Engineering and Information program.
Each agreement will have a base term of six years with a possibility to be renewed for another six years, subject to NSF’s assessment.
The foundries to be established under the Q-AMASE-i program will advance the development of novel algorithms, tools and simulations integrated with industrial tech platforms; new application domains; quantum systems research; highly trained workforce; and transformative breakthrough fundamental research.
The initiative will also focus on the development of materials based on valleytronics, spintronics and twistronics; materials based on topological semimetals and insulators; and those hosting spin liquids, non-Abelian quasiparticles, Majorana quasiparticles and topological superconductivity.
NSF said a foundry-run network will facilitate sharing of new devices, materials and methods developed through Q-AMASE-i with engineering and science communities.
“Technology transfer of foundry activities will be enabled by close cooperation with industrial partners,†the agency added.
Interested proposers should submit a letter of intent by Sept. 17 and NSF will accept proposals through Nov. 5, according to the notice.
