The Department of Energy has released a funding opportunity titled “Quantum Testbed Pathfinder,” which limits the number of submissions from an institution. To ensure that the institutional limit is not exceeded, interested applicants are asked to submit a brief expression of interest to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research by March 12, 2023. More information on the opportunity and the process for submitting an expression of interest can be found in the synopsis below:

DOE Quantum Testbed Pathfinder

Harvard Expression of Interest Deadline: March 12, 2023

FAS/SEAS/OSP Pre-Application Deadline (if nominated): March 28, 2023
Sponsor Pre-Application Deadline (if nominated): March 31, 2023 by 5 PM

FAS/SEAS/OSP Full Proposal Deadline: April 26, 2023
Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: May 3, 2023
Award Amount: $50,000-$300,000 per year (single institution); $50,000-$600,000 per year (multi-institutional team). DOE anticipates making awards with a project period of four years.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) has announced its interest in receiving applications to improve our understanding of whether, when, and how quantum computing might advance the frontiers of computational science. ASCR invites applications for basic research to address the following questions:

1. What can fundamental physical limits on quantum processors tell us about what quantum computers can and cannot do?
2. How can we use Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices to move our understanding of when and how quantum computers might be useful as far forward as possible?
3. How can we assess the utility of a given (existing or hypothetical) quantum processor for advancing the frontiers of computational science?

Applications may address any combination of these themes. This program is aimed at assessing current and future quantum computers rather than developing or improving applications and algorithms.

Applicant institutions are limited to no more than three pre-applications. Interested applicants are asked to submit an expression of interest to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research online via the link above no later than March 12, 2023. More information may be requested if there are more than three interested applicants.

Questions from FAS or SEAS faculty about this opportunity may be directed to Erin Hale (erin_hale@fas.harvard.edu) or Jennifer Corby (jcorby@fas.harvard.edu).

Requests for support related to the application portal may be directed to vpr@harvard.edu.