DOE Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research – Quantum Testbed Pathfinder Grant

The purpose of this FOA is to invite applications for foundational research in the following two areas:

1. Exploring the relationship between device architecture and application performance
2. Developing meaningful metrics for evaluating the suitability of quantum computing hardware for science applications

Applications may address one or both of these themes. Proposed research should focus on devices that are already available or that become available during the term of the award rather than large-scale, high-fidelity, fault-tolerant machines.

Funded teams will be expected to collaborate externally with researchers working to develop applications and algorithms that can expand the frontiers of scientific discovery. Funded teams will also be expected to participate in community engagement activities that support the growth of an active, integrated research community committed to the common goal of developing quantum computing resources for advancing scientific discovery.

Topics that are out of scope include: development and optimization of quantum algorithms; development of new candidate qubit systems; schemes based on qubits that have not yet demonstrated high-fidelity gates; schemes to improve the performance and functionality of qubits; quantum transduction; quantum communication, networking, and key distribution; cryptography and cryptanalysis; and logical qubits beyond considerations given to scaling to ~10 qubit devices.