by Ashley Washburn | Research and Economic Development
The University of Nebraska has received a five-year, $20 million award from the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to create a research and education cluster aimed at enhancing the state’s competitiveness in the field of emergent quantum materials and technologies, and boosting the participating institutions’ research and education capacity.
The field of materials science and technology is undergoing a second quantum revolution that is expected to drastically change information technology, medical technology and cryptography, which impacts security measures used in defense and banking. The new Emergent Quantum Materials and Technologies collaboration, or EQUATE, is Nebraska’s answer to leading this movement and preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers, said Matt Andrews, Nebraska EPSCoR director and the project’s principal investigator. It is supported with an NSF Research Infrastructure Improvement-Track 1 award.
Andrews said NU’s expertise in materials and nanoscience, experience leading major NSF-funded projects, and track record of collaborating across institutions and disciplines have positioned the project to succeed. Quantum science and related technologies are a top scientific priority at the federal level, and EQUATE is one result of the National Quantum Initiative passed by Congress in 2018 to position the United States as a leading global competitor in the field.
“This project furthers Nebraska’s strategic priority to advance knowledge in quantum phenomena,” said José Colom-Ustáriz, an NSF EPSCoR program director. “It has the potential to benefit society through research outcomes, workforce development and STEM education and training, specifically in Native American and rural communities.”
Read more and watch a video:
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/nu-receives-20-million-grant-to-advance-quantum-research-education/