NIST has launched the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QEDC) which aims to expand U.S. leadership in global quantum research and development and the emerging quantum industry in computing, communications and sensing. Quantum technologies take advantage of the unusual rules that govern the behavior of the fundamental building blocks of matter, including electrons, protons, neutrons and photons.
Announcement of the new consortium follows a Sept. 25, 2018, Quantum Information Science Summit sponsored by the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. At the summit, the administration released its National Strategic Overview for Quantum Information Science, which outlines its commitment to maintaining and expanding American leadership in quantum information science.
With funding from both the government and private-sector member organizations, the QEDC will:
- determine workforce needs essential to the development of quantum technologies;
- provide efficient public-private sector coordination;
- identify technology solutions for filling gaps in research or infrastructure;
- highlight use cases and grand challenges to accelerate development efforts; and
- foster sharing of intellectual property, efficient supply chains, technology forecasting and quantum literacy.