NSF and DOE Support Research Priorities With Spate of New Center Awards

The dilution refrigerator of a quantum computer.

(Image credit – Thor Swift / Berkeley Lab)

Over the summer, the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy announced funding for dozens of new research centers, with awards ranging from around $10 million to more than $100 million spanning over four to six years. The agencies fund such efforts to build up multi-institutional collaborations and support specialized research infrastructure that is not feasible under smaller, single-investigator grants.

Some of the centers are the first to be launched through new programs dedicated to quantum information science (QIS) and artificial intelligence, reflecting congressional and Trump administration research priorities. Both NSF and DOE also made new awards under existing center programs focused on physics, engineering, materials research, and energy innovation.

More than $1 billion planned for QIS and AI centers

The National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018 requires NSF and DOE to each fund up to five QIS research centers. In July, NSF announced it will evenly divide $75 million over five years among its first three centers, called Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes, which together will support partnerships between 16 core academic institutions, 22 companies, and eight national labs: 

• The Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering Institute led by the University of Colorado Boulder will design and build high-precision quantum sensors that can probe a variety of fundamental physical phenomena.
• The Institute for Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will build testbeds to evaluate the functionality of networks of small quantum devices.
• The Institute for Present and Future Quantum Computing led by the University of California, Berkeley will develop algorithms for large-scale quantum computers.

NSF is currently soliciting proposals for additional centers.

DOE announced its five QIS research centers in August, each receiving $115 million over five years, with commitments for additional funding from dozens of universities and companies totaling $340 million altogether. Each center will be managed by a DOE national lab:

• Q-NEXT led by Argonne National Lab will build quantum sensor networks, secure quantum communication links, and two “national foundries” for standardized quantum materials and devices.
• The Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center led by Fermilab will work to lengthen the lifetime of quantum states, known as the coherence time, in order to develop next-generation quantum computers and sensors.
• The Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage led by Brookhaven National Lab will design software and components for quantum computers.
• The Quantum Systems Accelerator led by Berkeley Lab will develop new ways to control quantum computing platforms and design algorithms that are tailored to solving scientific problems.
• The Quantum Science Center led by Oak Ridge National Lab will explore the use of topological materials in quantum computers, test algorithms for quantum computers, and develop sensors for discovery science applications.

Legislation is now pending in Congress that would establish an initiative for AI similar to the National Quantum Initiative, charging NSF with establishing a national network of research centers. NSF has already moved in that direction, announcing in August it is funding five new institutes at $20 million each over five years:

• The Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions led by MIT will explore how AI can help address fundamental questions in physics, and how physics knowledge can improve AI algorithms.
• The Institute for Molecular Discovery, Synthetic Strategy, and Manufacturing led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will use AI to accelerate the synthesis of small molecules.
• The Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography led by the University of Oklahoma will work to improve the reliability of Earth system predictions.
• The Institute for Student-AI Teaming led by the University of Colorado Boulder will develop “AI partners” that offer individualized instruction in classrooms.
• The Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning led by the University of Texas at Austin will work to understand how deep learning algorithms function and improve their efficiency.

NSF plans to establish around eight more institutes funded at $160 million overall, this time with support from corporate partners including Accenture, Amazon, Google, and Intel. It is also working to build a broader network of AI research and education centers with participation from the Departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Transportation. The Department of Agriculture announced its first two centers in August, focused on next-generation food systems and sustainability.

Longstanding NSF programs refresh center networks

NSF also issued awards over the summer through its established center programs.

In August, NSF announced four new awards under its Engineering Research Centers program, which has funded 75 centers since its inception in 1985. The new centers will together receive $104 million over five years:

• The Center for Quantum Networks led by the University of Arizona aims to pave the way toward a "quantum internet" by developing key enabling technologies.
• The Center for Advanced Technologies for Preservation of Biological Systems led by the University of Minnesota will design cryogenic methods for storing biological materials.
• The Center for Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification led by Utah State University will seek to develop a low-cost and ubiquitous charging network to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles.
• The Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture led by the University of Pennsylvania will develop technologies that increase crop yields while minimizing energy and water use.

NSF also awarded two new Physics Frontier Centers in August:

• The Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures led by the University of Rochester will receive $13 million over five years to explore the properties of matter at extreme pressures using high-power lasers, pulsed power, and advanced X-ray technology. It is billed as NSF’s first major initiative in high energy density science.

• The Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries led by the University of California, Berkeley will receive $11 million over five years to model the merger of neutron stars and address major questions in multi-messenger astrophysics.

The agency has supported 17 Physics Frontier Centers since 2001, of which 11 are currently active.

In July, NSF announced three new Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs), each funded at $18 million over six years:

• The Center for Hybrid, Active, and Responsive Materials at the University of Delaware will create bioinspired organic materials that function as nanoscale machines and hybrid inorganic quantum materials that can be used as advanced sensors.
• The Center for Materials Discovery Through Atomic Level Structural Design and Charge Control at the University of California, Irvine will develop materials able to withstand extreme environments or that can interface with living systems.
• A center at the University of California, San Diego Institute for Materials Discovery and Design will use synthetic biology to create new classes of materials and develop “predictive assembly” tools to design small-molecule drugs.

The MRSEC program was founded in 1994 and now supports 19 centers in all.

DOE updates flagship energy research hubs

DOE announced in July it will provide $200 million to establish new Energy Innovation Hubs and Energy Frontier Research Centers (ERFCs), its two primary mechanisms for supporting extramural research collaborations in basic energy sciences.

The Fuels From Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub created at Caltech in 2010 to advance research in artificial photosynthesis is now sunsetting, making way for two new hubs:

• $60 million will go to the Liquid Sunlight Alliance, a partnership between Caltech and three national labs that will use computational modeling and advanced imaging techniques such as ultrafast X-rays to identify simpler ways to convert sunlight into fuel.
• $40 million will go to a new Center for Hybrid Approaches in Solar Energy to Liquid Fuels led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which will develop hybrid photoelectrodes that combine semiconductors with molecular catalysts to absorb light and convert it to fuel.

DOE also announced it is awarding $100 million over four years to a cohort of 10 EFRCs, including six new centers:

• The Ultra Materials for a Resilient, Smart Electricity Grid EFRC led by Arizona State University will develop wide band gap semiconductors for use in the electric grid.
• The Center for Quantum Sensing and Quantum Materials led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will use quantum sensing techniques to explore the properties of quantum materials including exotic superconductors, topological crystalline insulators, and strange metals. 
• The Center for Molecular Quantum Transduction led by Northwestern University will research the conversion of quantum signals from one form of energy to another.
• The Center for 3D Ferroelectric Microelectronics led by Pennsylvania State University will develop new materials to improve the performance of computer chips.
• The Center for Plastics Innovation led by the University of Delaware will search for new ways to transform plastic waste into fuels and other useful products.
• The Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics led by Ames Laboratory will create catalysts that can breakdown long polymer chains in order to recycle plastic waste.

Since DOE launched the program in 2009, it has supported 82 EFRCs.