URI Receives $5M NSF Grant to Broaden Participation in Quantum Information Science

The University of Rhode Island (URI), in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute, has received a five-year, $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Expanding Capacity in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (ExpandQISE) program. The project aims to advance qubit reliability while also addressing critical quantum workforce development needs.

Led by Professor Leonard Kahn, chair of URI’s Department of Physics, the initiative will study how qubits, the basic units of quantum information, degrade over time and explore new fabrication methods for superconducting junctions to improve their stability. Funding will also support two new faculty hires, three graduate students, and the development of a quantum research lab equipped with a dilution refrigerator for low-temperature testing.

Graduate students will train at the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute, a consortium including Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, to gain hands-on experience manufacturing superconducting components.

Beyond advancing the science, the project also supports quantum workforce expansion, preparing students and researchers for emerging roles in what Kahn calls the “second quantum revolution.”