Updated
Updated · samueli.ucla.edu · Aug 25
UCLA Scientists Co-Lead 2 NSF Quantum Institutes With $75 Million to Tackle Computing Barriers
Updated
Updated · samueli.ucla.edu · Aug 25

UCLA Scientists Co-Lead 2 NSF Quantum Institutes With $75 Million to Tackle Computing Barriers

1 articles · Updated · samueli.ucla.edu · Aug 25

Summary

  • $75 million in new NSF funding will back two five-year quantum computing institutes where UCLA's Jason Cong and Jens Palsberg serve as co-principal investigators.
  • The grants split into two $37.5 million awards aimed at closing the gap between error-prone quantum systems and practical computing, part of eight NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute awards worth more than $290 million.
  • Harvard-led FTQSAA will focus on fault-tolerant quantum systems, with Cong leading UCLA work on software, algorithms and AI tools to improve reliability, error correction and efficiency.
  • UC Berkeley-led CIQC received a renewed $37.5 million grant, and Palsberg will lead UCLA's effort to ease trapped-ion bottlenecks and build a universal software stack for comparing quantum technologies and applications.
  • The awards expand an NSF program launched in 2020 after the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, underscoring a broader U.S. push to compete in quantum technology.

Insights

Will a new universal software stack ultimately crown a winner among today's competing quantum hardware platforms?
Can these massive federal investments deliver practical quantum advantage before classical AI makes it obsolete?
Could AI-driven error correction finally unlock the elusive commercial potential of fault-tolerant quantum computing?