A New NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center in Indiana: The Center for Quantum Technologies
CQT Partner Institution Roundtable
Earlier this year, an inaugural meeting marked the creation of the Center for Quantum Technologies, an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) for quantum research and development in Indiana. A partnership of three prominent higher education institutions, Purdue, Notre Dame, and Indiana University — both Bloomington and Indianapolis (IUPUI) campuses — spawned the new center.
With the help and guidance of David Stewart, managing director of the CQT, Campus Technology hosted CQT leaders from each of the partner institutions for a virtual roundtable discussion of the structure and goals of the CQT. Participants in the following discussion include:
- Sabre Kais, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Physics, Purdue University; CQT Center Director and Purdue Site Director
- Peter Kogge, Ted H. McCourtney Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame; CQT Notre Dame Site Director
- Gerardo Ortiz, Professor of Physics and Scientific Director of IU Quantum Science and Engineering Center, Indiana University; CQT Indiana Site Director
- Ricardo Decca, Professor and Department Chair of Physics, Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI); IUPUI CQT Campus Director
- David Stewart, Managing Director, Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute; Industry Liaison Officer and Managing Director, CQT
Mary Grush: Tell us about the Center for Quantum Technologies.
David Stewart: The CQT is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC). It is a partnership between Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, and Indiana University, which includes both the Bloomington and Indianapolis (IUPUI) campuses. The CQT brings together academia, industry, and government to enable use-inspired, industry-relevant quantum technology research and development.
The CQT brings together academia, industry, and government to enable use-inspired, industry-relevant quantum technology research and development.
Grush: Can you explain the IUCRC model further?
Stewart: Absolutely. This is a unique NSF program that has been around for decades. There are about 80 IUCRCs in the country, but the CQT is the first with a quantum focus. The NSF provides funding for administration and management costs, and a framework for how the center functions. Industry and government members then join the center and pay an annual fee, which goes 100 percent to the center's research efforts. What is unique is that the industry and government members collectively vote on which projects get funded, and they also provide input in new research directions — so they really have significant influence in the center's future.
What is unique is that the industry and government members collectively vote on which projects get funded, and they also provide input in new research directions.
Grush: You mentioned your industry and government members. Who are they?
Peter Kogge: We are excited to have a diverse membership from a variety of sectors, allowing us to touch many different areas of quantum. Our members include the Air Force Research Lab, AWS, Cummins, D-Wave, Eli Lilly, Entanglement Inc., Hewlett Packard, IBM, Northrop Grumman, Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division, Quantum Innovative Solutions, Qrypt, Skywater, and Toyota.
Grush: How did the university partners envision the idea of creating an IUCRC, and has that been a long process?
Sabre Kais: The university partners became aware of the IUCRC program and realized there was a need for a center focused on quantum technologies. Due to our proximity and history of working together, along with vast expertise in quantum science and engineering, we forged this partnership and started the process of establishing the center.
Gerardo Ortiz: The work started over three years ago, in late 2019, when we first started discussing the possibility. Since then, we've held multiple workshops, attended an IUCRC bootcamp, interviewed more than 80 prospective industry and government members, and submitted and won both a planning grant and a full Phase I, five-year award.
Grush: What advantages are there in partnering together rather than running a single-university IUCRC?
Ricardo Decca: First, it expands our research expertise. Across the four campuses we have more than 100 faculty working in some area of quantum science and engineering. By partnering we build a vast network of capabilities that will appeal to almost any industry or government member. Second, quantum technology development requires an interdisciplinary approach to make transformative breakthroughs. By partnering, we can leverage interdisciplinary expertise across campuses — this is evident by the multiple Year 1 funded projects that include multiple university investigators.
Quantum technology development requires an interdisciplinary approach… By partnering, we can leverage interdisciplinary expertise across campuses.
Kogge: I'd also like to mention that this gives our students opportunities to interact with faculty from other universities and even travel to do research in partner universities' labs. It provides them with learning opportunities unique to the CQT.
Grush: How will the CQT work with its industry and government membership to define general research directions and specific projects?
Decca: As David mentioned, the IUCRC model is unique in that it gives its members significant influence in research directions. The CQT holds semiannual meetings. At the first, which we just held, projects were pitched to the members and voted upon; and at the second meeting the members will provide feedback on current projects and help us establish future research priorities. Additionally, members will attend regular virtual project update meetings where they will be able to make recommendations and suggestions to the CQT researchers.
Grush: In what other ways are the members involved?
Kais: In addition to guiding the research direction, the members also provide mentorship to the student researchers. There are opportunities via supplemental NSF funding for students to intern with our members. This is invaluable development for our students as it gives them real-world experience with leading industry and government experts.
Kogge: We also hope this establishes new relationships and collaborations adjacent to the efforts of the CQT, both academia-to-members and members-to-members. We want to grow a quantum ecosystem that is bigger than just the funded projects of the center, leading to transformational breakthroughs.
Grush: You have talked some about the research direction, but quantum is very broad. What are the areas of focus for the center?
Ortiz: As Ricardo mentioned, we have over 100 faculty working in several areas of quantum science and engineering. The CQT will focus on a number of different themes within quantum technology development, including algorithms and architecture; security, finance, and business; materials design and chemistry; sensing and hardware; and communications and networks. We have purposely kept the CQT research themes broad, for a few reasons. First, as Peter mentioned, we want to build a vibrant quantum ecosystem that includes members from a variety of sectors. We want not only to meet the current needs of our membership but also to be flexible in future research directions as the needs and interests of our membership change. Second, the various research areas of quantum are very intertwined, so it is beneficial to have multiple themes working together to solve grand challenges.
The CQT will focus on a number of different themes within quantum technology development, including algorithms and architecture; security, finance, and business; materials design and chemistry; sensing and hardware; and communications and networks.
Grush: What are the grand challenges? Where can quantum make an impact on our lives?
Kais: The proposed research has the potential to transform the way the world lives and works. Almost every area of our lives will eventually be impacted by quantum science and engineering advances. Technologies developed could help save energy, speed up computation, enhance national security and defense, and innovate health care. Potential applications range from improving traffic flow, to securing banking, to optimizing material and drug designs, to improving detection of enemy military activity. Quantum technologies could lead to better agriculture yields, improve safety of self-driving cars, and help detect disease earlier. It is not hyperbole to say the possibilities are truly limitless.
The proposed research has the potential to transform the way the world lives and works. Almost every area of our lives will eventually be impacted by quantum science and engineering advances.
Grush: Would you say that the industry and government membership brings a kind of 'real-world' grounding to research agendas? And, will potentially competitive corporate members collaborate on projects?
Decca: The industry and government members definitely add a more use-inspired flavor to the research agendas. Our faculty are developing proposals that are of interest to our members, and as the center evolves, the projects will even be guided by members' input. So, while this is still academic research it certainly has corporate influence. To your second question, all the research is pre-competitive and shared across the membership. The members provide guidance and suggestions to our researchers, but they do not actually collaborate on the research projects.
Kais: I would add, as Peter and Gerardo discussed previously, we want to build a quantum ecosystem that allows collaborations to flourish outside of the specific research within the center. This could lead to more one-on-one or small group research projects that are of interest to a subset of our membership where IP could be more controlled.
Grush: Besides the research results, what other benefits do members receive?
Stewart: Great question, and there are many additional benefits. These include access to talent (our excellent students and researchers); risk mitigation, as they are sharing early-stage research risks with the other members; and lower research costs as the universities already have world-class facilities and infrastructure as well as lower human capital costs. There is also significant leverage on the investment as their membership fees are being pooled, overhead is waived, and NSF also provides funding. At the moment there is a 19:1 leverage on a full membership fee, which gives members access to significantly more research results than they would have sponsoring an individual project.
At the moment there is a 19:1 leverage on a full membership fee, which gives members access to significantly more research results than they would have sponsoring an individual project.
Ortiz: Other benefits include networking within the CQT ecosystem we are growing, and also, all members receive royalty-free, non-exclusive licenses to any IP produced in the center.
Kogge: I also want to expand on the access-to-talent benefit that David mentioned. Our students are truly our greatest output, and they will have significant interaction with our members. NSF likes to quote the statistic that 25 percent of IUCRC students eventually become employed at member companies, so this center gives our members the opportunity to build relationships with potential future employees.
Grush: Those are fantastic benefits for the members. What are the benefits for the universities involved?
Decca: The obvious benefit is that we get funding to do the research that we love, but I think about the benefit for our students. They get firsthand interaction with our industry members, giving them a very unique learning experience. And as Sabre mentioned previously, there is opportunity for students to obtain supplemental funding from NSF to intern at the member companies. That's exciting because it is going to prepare them to make immediate impacts in the corporate or government world upon graduation.
Kais: And we continue to mention: Growing this ecosystem where we build relationships with industry and government is going to lead to transformational breakthroughs in quantum science and engineering disciplines.
Growing this ecosystem where we build relationships with industry and government is going to lead to transformational breakthroughs in quantum science and engineering disciplines.
Grush: Are there any possibilities for other academic institutions to join, beyond the original Indiana neighbors?
Stewart: Yes, that is certainly an option, and one we would strongly consider, but it has to be the right fit. First, another university would need to bring unique expertise to the table not already present within the CQT. And second, they would need to bring additional members with them. All IUCRCs must maintain a minimum membership level which increases as the number of university partners increases. So we would ideally target a university that already has strong quantum industry and government partners not already present in the CQT.
Grush: The CQT is funded for at least 5 years. What are your hopes for the CQT during this 5-year window?
Kais: We hope to carry out world-class research that grows our knowledge of quantum science and engineering, and we hope this knowledge will eventually lead to next generation quantum materials, devices, algorithms, and more. And I'll say it again: We want to stimulate a dynamic quantum ecosystem, where strong relationships are built and all participants — faculty, students, industry, and government — receive extreme value for their support and investment in the center.
Grush: Many thanks to all of you for your time and insights. What can readers interested in the CQT do to get more information?
Stewart: They can visit our website at www.purdue.edu/cqt or e-mail us at [email protected]. On behalf of the entire CQT, thanks for the opportunity to highlight the center today!