NSF Selects Five New Teams to Design Experimental Quantum Technologies
"Across academia, government and industry, America has an unmatched array of brilliant people working on quantum science and tech with incredible potential to improve our quality of life."
— Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected five new teams to design experimental quantum technologies, allocating $20 million collectively. The projects will explore long-distance quantum information transfer networks and sensors capable of measuring cellular properties.
These five teams join four others selected in 2025 as part of the NSF National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program.
Funding and Timeline
Each team receives $4 million over two years to refine development plans and prepare for implementation. Subject to congressional appropriations, the first teams are expected to transition to the implementation phase later in 2026.
Project Areas
The five selected projects focus on:
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Accelerating fault-tolerant quantum logic — designing error-correcting code, hardware, and algorithms together.
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Attosecond synchronized photonic entanglement network — aiming for a high-fidelity quantum networking system approximately 100,000 times faster than current networks, with a range of roughly 60 miles.
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Distributed-entanglement quantum sensing of chemical properties — developing sensors, including protein-based qubits, for use inside solid materials or cells.
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Erasure qubits and dynamic circuits for quantum advantage — designing error-detection and correction methods for superconducting quantum computers.
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Quantum photonic integration and deployment — creating chip-based portable quantum sensors for field use.
Participants
The teams include researchers from institutions of higher education across 20 states. Federal partners include:
- U.S. Department of the Air Force's Air Force Research Laboratory
- Multiple U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories
- NASA
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
More than two dozen U.S. companies are partnering, including Boeing, Honeywell, IonQ, NVIDIA, and Quantinuum.
Workforce Activities
Education and training activities include co-creating quantum science curricula with K-12 teachers and researcher participation in classrooms.
"But too often they are working independently in silos. We need to bring their talent and ideas together, and NSF is uniquely positioned to make that happen."
The NSF continues to position itself as a central hub for collaboration across academia, government, and industry — bringing together the nation's brightest minds to accelerate quantum technology development.