RIT part of NSF-funded Quantum Leap Challenge Institute Professor Ben Zwickl is co-PI on $37.5 million grant Rochester Institute of Technology is building its eminence in quantum research as part of a $37.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) award for large-scale interdisciplinary research projects known as Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes. The goal of the project, led by Yale University, is to advance the science and engineering of practical quantum error by creating a community of physicists, engineers, computer scientists, and chemists who contribute to the realization of large-scale, error-corrected quantum hardware. Called the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Physics and Engineering of Practical Quantum Error Correction (NSF PRACTIQAL), the grant is one of eight awarded to large-scale interdisciplinary research centers. Along with RIT, co-PIs come from Virginia Tech and University of California San Diego. RIT’s involvement will focus on education and workforce development, led by Ben Zwickl, professor of physics. Zwickl and his team will manage center-wide professional development for undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty; manage exchange programs within the center; and conduct education research and lead curriculum development related to the quantum error correction and the societal benefits of quantum technology. “I’m excited to work with such an outstanding team of scientists and engineers at Yale, Virginia Tech, and elsewhere,” said Zwickl. “Our work at RIT will help take their advanced ideas about quantum error correction and make them accessible for a wide range of learners. We also want to shift the dialog around quantum education to include the people and communities impacted by the practical quantum technologies envisioned by PRACTIQAL. The QLCI will support the expansion of our minor in quantum information science and technology to include a new hands-on interdisciplinary quantum technology laboratory course, as well as provide support for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers.”