UCLA receives $75 million in NSF grants for quantum technology

Two UCLA quantum computing institutes received grants from the National Science Foundation worth a combined $75 million Aug. 25.

The institutes – Fault-Tolerant Quantum Systems, Architectures and Applications and Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation – aim to advance quantum technologies, which function faster than classical computers or standard digital devices.

Researchers said the two NSF grants, each worth $37.5 million over five years, will strengthen UCLA’s place in quantum computing research nationwide.

“This creates a huge opportunity for everybody at UCLA who wants to get involved in quantum,” said Jens Palsberg, a professor of computer science and co-principle investigator of CIQC.

The quantum computation institute, founded in 2020, aims to develop more efficient quantum computers and understand nature through quantum information science, according to its website.

The institute building fault-tolerant systems – co-led by the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University – is focused on developing reliable and accessible quantum systems, said Jason Cong, a UCLA distinguished professor of computer science and a co-principle investigator of FTQSAA in an emailed statement.