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Quantum Leap for Appalachia

UT’s physicists aren’t afraid of a little disruption. On the contrary, they’re joining scientists and engineers from across the university—and the region—to welcome it. With support from a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant they’re building on collective strengths to tackle the still-new and formidable field of quantum information sciences and make Appalachia a leader not only in research, but also education and training for the future workforce.

The grant is part of an NSF program to set up Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes. These will be large research projects that draw expertise across disciplines in the sciences and engineering to advance the frontiers of quantum science. The expectation is that they will focus on quantum computation, quantum communication, quantum simulation, and/or quantum sensing. The institutes will also develop workforce goals in these areas. UT was among 18 lead universities awarded a one-year “conceptualization grant,” beginning January 1, 2020, to lay out a strategy for building a challenge institute. The next round of awards will fund the institutes themselves, which will each have five years of support at a level of up to $5 million per year.

George Siopsis

The principal investigator for UT’s conceptualization grant is Physics Professor George Siopsis, who is no stranger to the quantum realm.

"Throughout my career as a theoretical physicist, I have been trying to understand how Nature works at the most elementary level," he said.

His research evolved to black holes and Hawking's information loss paradox that exposed the incompatibility of Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

"Jumping into the quantum information realm was natural," he said. "But what I found most attractive was that this field had the potential to lead to practical applications that will benefit people in the very near future. I was fortunate to be in close proximity to colleagues who were knowledgeable (at Oak Ridge National Laboratory). The first project we did together was in quantum cryptography and was funded by the Navy."

Siopsis has since expanded his collaborations to include colleagues at other institutions and government labs, including the Department of Defense and Homeland Security. Now he helps lead a team of 37 (and growing) scientists and engineers from UT and ORNL, including nine physics faculty members, three joint faculty members, and one physics alumna. Associate Professor Steve Johnston is also part of the grant leadership, as are faculty members from chemistry, electrical engineering, and industrial systems and engineering.

They’ve set three goals for themselves over the next year for the project (called the Appalachian Quantum Initiative): coordinating research, coordinating community engagement, and developing an educational curriculum in quantum information science. They’ll build on the existing infrastructure (e.g., supercomputing technology at ORNL, UT-ORNL joint institutes) to extend partnerships to regional universities and industry. Microsoft, Tennessee Tech, and Volkswagen have already signed on. A key factor will be developing a curriculum for students—regardless of background—to equip them with the knowledge and skills to work in the quantum information world. The plan is for internships and career opportunities to help raise the economic fortunes of Appalachia. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the area is one of economic contrasts. Some communities have successfully diversified their economies and others are in need of basic infrastructure. A goal of this challenge institute would be to level out the opportunities across the region while at the same time taking the lead in a critical research area.

"This is a unique opportunity for UT to assume a leadership role in quantum information," Siopsis said. "We have experts in the area at UT and ORNL, great educators, and a large number of students who are eager to acquire skills in the field. We are already talking to other universities in the Southeast, national labs, and industry. We will be bringing experts in the field to work with scientists and engineers who are not familiar with quantum information, but whose research stands to benefit from the development of quantum software. Moreover, we will be developing a curriculum to train the future workforce that will be able to take advantage of the emerging technologies."

Over the next 12 months the team will work to flesh out ideas for how a possible challenge institute will work. With workshops, seminars, and curriculum development, they hope to build a “regional ecosystem” for quantum information sciences. The area is among the 10 "Big Ideas" the NSF unveiled in 2016 as key to national competitiveness in science and engineering. While technical revolutions can sometimes be daunting, Siopsis and his colleagues see these advances as opportunities.

"The new technologies taking advantage of the quantum realm will be truly disruptive," he said. "It is important to develop quantum software for scientists and engineers who are not quantumly trained, as well as do workforce development in close consultation with industry and national labs. Both are challenging, because currently only a fraction of physicists (and) physical chemists and a smaller fraction of computer scientists have the required knowledge. I welcome the challenge and hope to make UT a center of these promising future technologies."

Learn more about UT’s Appalachian Quantum Initiative at: www.phys.utk.edu/quantum/



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