The National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States is funding a new project that Stony Brook University is spearheading to advance quantum information science and technology (QIST) in the country. This project is one of the first five initiatives under the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) program, funded by the NSF.
The SCY-QNet facility envisioned across Stony Brook, Columbia, Yale, and BNL. The end nodes will have atomic-based Quantum Internet Processing Units (QPUs) and Quantum Frequency Converters (QFCs). The intermediate nodes will deploy Entanglement Sources (ESs), Quantum Memory Banks (QMBs), and Entanglement Swapping Stations to facilitate the generation of long-distance entanglement via quantum repeaters. Image Credit: L. Castillo-Veneros, Stony Brook University.
Funding for each project is $1 million. Collaborations include Columbia University, Yale University, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on the Stony Brook-led project.
The goal of conducting worldwide research on quantum networks and computing is to create a quantum internet - a network of quantum computers, sensors, and communication devices - that can generate, process, and transmit quantum states and entanglement. In addition to improving society's larger internet system, emerging technology is anticipated to offer some services and security that the current internet cannot offer.
The project, named “Wide-Area Quantum Network to Demonstrate Quantum Advantage (SCY-QNet),” entails the construction of a 10-node long-distance quantum network to illustrate the advantages of distributed quantum processing and quantum communication. This would allow for the development of secure and private long-distance communications systems.
This project has the potential to boost the scaling of quantum computing systems via quantum networks, forming a first version of the Quantum Internet.
Eden Figueroa, Ph.D., Study Principal Investigator and Presidential Innovation Endowed Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University
Figueroa is the Director of the Center for Distributed Quantum Processing and holds a joint appointment with BNL.
“To realize this ambitious vision, we have assembled a team of the leading quantum physicists, electrical engineers, and computer scientists in the region,” added Figueroa.
We are thrilled to have received this inaugural award from the National Science Foundation alongside our partner universities. It represents the considerable efforts each institution has dedicated to re-envisioning the future of quantum information science research, bound by a shared sense of the importance of collaborative scientific discovery for societal advancement.
Nina Maung, Senior Associate VP, Research Development and Partnerships, Stony Brook University