UPDATE ON NIST AND THE NQI

CARL WILLIAMS, ACTING DIRECTOR PML
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National Quantum Initiative (NQI) Act

H.R. 6227 (NQI) introduced June 

26, 2018; passed House 

unanimously on Sept 16, 2018

December 13, 2018 passed Senate 

unanimously with an amendment

December 19, 2018 resolved in 

the House

December 21, 2018 presented to 

and signed by the President
NQI and OSTP

SEC. 102. NATIONAL QUANTUM 

COORDINATION OFFICE – Interim 

Director is Jacob Taylor 

SEC. 103. SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE –

previously established under the NSTC

SEC. 104. NATIONAL QUANTUM 

INITIATIVE ADVISORY COMMITTEE –

FACA committee being set up by DOE
Advancing a New National Strategy for QIS

• On September 23, 2018, OSTP/NSTC 

released a new national strategy for 

QIS – consistent with the NQI Act.

• On September 24, 2018, OSTP held a 

Summit on Advancing American 

Leadership in QIS with about 100 

participants from academy, industry, 

and the USG. Closing remarks were 

by Lamar Smith.

• On May 31, 2019, OSTP held an 

Academic Roundtable on Innovation 

in Quantum Information Science
Key QIS Policy Opportunities

• Choosing a science-first approach to QIS

• Creating a quantum-smart workforce for 

tomorrow

• Deepening engagement with quantum 

industry

• Providing critical infrastructure

• Maintaining national security and 

economic growth

• Advancing international cooperation
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NIST and the NQI (SEC. 201.)

Continue and expand basic and applied R&D, 

including measurement and standards 

infrastructure necessary to advance commercial 

development of quantum applications

Basic and Applied QIST R&D Workforce

Collaborate and Work with Others From Contracts to OTA

Use the existing programs of the NIST, in 

collaboration with other Federal departments and 

agencies, as appropriate, to train scientists in 

quantum information science and technology (QIST)

Establish or expand collaborative ventures or 

consortia with other public or private sector 

entities, including industry, universities, and Federal 

laboratories for the purpose of advancing the field 

of quantum information science and engineering;

Enter into such contracts, including cooperative 

research and development arrangements, grants 

and cooperative agreements, or other transactions, 

in furtherance of the purposes of this Act
NIST, a Quantum Consortium, and the NQI

GOALS:

• to assess the current research on the needs 

identified to the left

• to identify any gaps in the research necessary 

to meet the needs to the left

• to provide recommendations on how the NIST 

and the Program can address the gaps to the 

left

REPORT TO CONGRESS: 

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

of this Act, NIST shall submit Congress a report 

summarizing the findings of the consortium.

SEC. 201. Quantum Consortium: 

Not later than 1 year after the date 

of enactment of this Act, the 

Director of the NIST shall convene a 

consortium of stakeholders to 

identify the future measurement, 

standards, cybersecurity, and other 

appropriate needs for supporting 

the development of a robust 

quantum information science and 

technology industry in the United 

States.
But what does it take to build a quantum 

industry and the supporting ecosystem?
First Transistor, 1947

William Shockley, John Bardeen, and 

Walter Brattain 

2018, IC (12”, < 10 nm)

Wafer processing

Wet cleans

Cleaning by solvents

Piranha solution

RCA clean

Photolithography

Ion implantation 

Dry etching

Wet etching

Plasma ashing

Thermal treatments

Rapid thermal anneal

Furnace anneals

Thermal oxidation

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)

Physical vapor deposition (PVD)

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)

Electrochemical deposition (ECD)

Chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP)

Wafer testing

Wafer backgrinding

Die preparation

Wafer mounting

Die cutting

IC packaging

Die attachment

IC bonding

Wire bonding

Thermosonic bonding

Flip chip

Wafer bonding

Tape Automated Bonding (TAB)

IC encapsulation

Baking

Plating

Lasermarking

Trim and form

IC testing

INDUSTRY &

INFRASTRUCTURE

Complements J. Broz, SRI

Birth and Development of an Industry
Quantum Economic Development Consortium

QED-C is being 

established in 

partnership 

with SRI 

International 

under the 

leadership of 

Joe Broz, Vice 

President of 

SRI’s Advanced 

Technology and 

Systems 

Division (ATSD)

Contact: 

joe.broz@sri.com

• De-risked 

components

• Robust 

infrastructure

• Common 

standards

• Testbeds

STAGE &

TRL:

ACTIVITY:

EFFICIENCIES:

ENGAGED

DISCIPLINES:

Understanding

Physical

Phenomena

Exploiting &

Controlling

Phenomena

Create First

of a Kind

Devices

Create Key SubComponents &

Devices/ T&E/

Performance Stds.

Develop Efficient

Common PurposeDriven Device

Designs/ T&E/ Stds.

Competitive R&D

And Industry 

Activities:

• Production 

Equipment 

Fabrication & 

Sales

• COTS Device 

Manufacturing & 

Sales

• Full Quantum 

Systems

• Deploy Quantum 

Systems at Utility 

Scale

Introduce New

Common Enabling Devices

Performance Standards

Create Device

Production Equipment

Standards

COTS Device &

Systems Performance

Standards

AMO Physics / Scientific Theory / R&D / Materials

T&E / Engineering Design & Development

Public/Private Support:

Funding & Collaboration

Prototype

Components

and Subsystems

Basic

R&D

Application

R&D

Device

Prototypes

Enabling 

Component 

Development 1 2 3 4 5

QED-C Quantum Consortium Activities
Purpose and Objectives of the QED-C:

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• To support enabling technology R&D and enhance the quantum ecosystem: 

(e.g., quantum device components, instrumentation, and performance standards)

• To facilitate industry coordination & interaction with Government agencies

• Determine workforce needs essential to the development of quantum 

technologies

• Provide efficient public-private sector coordination

• Identify technology solutions for filling gaps in research or infrastructure

• Highlight use cases & grand challenges to accelerate development efforts

• Foster sharing of intellectual property, efficient supply chains, technology 

forecasting and quantum literacy
QED-C

Meetings:

1st August 21, 2018 at SRI International 

in Menlo Park, CA

2nd October 29-30, 2018 at NIST in 

Boulder, CO

3rd January 22-23, 2019 at CU in 

Boulder, CO

4th April 30 - May 1 in Gaithersburg, MD

Governing Board & TACs

• Governing Board elected: 3 large 

and 4 small/start-up companies, 2 

government agencies 10/29/201

• Technical Advisory Committee 

established 10/29/2018

NIST Support

Initiated under a CRADA in June 

2018 the QED-C will be the first 

use of Other Transaction Authority

Legal Structure

Formal legal structure and 

participation agreements are 

expected in fall 2019.

More than 60 Letters of Intent have been received
NIST and QIS
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NIST and the NQI (SEC. 201.)

Continue and expand basic and applied R&D, 

including measurement and standards 

infrastructure necessary to advance commercial 

development of quantum applications

Basic and Applied QIST R&D Workforce

Collaborate and Work with Others From Contracts to OTA

Use the existing programs of the NIST, in 

collaboration with other Federal departments and 

agencies, as appropriate, to train scientists in 

quantum information science and technology (QIST)

Establish or expand collaborative ventures or 

consortia with other public or private sector 

entities, including industry, universities, and Federal 

laboratories for the purpose of advancing the field 

of quantum information science and engineering;

Enter into such contracts, including cooperative 

research and development arrangements, grants 

and cooperative agreements, or other transactions, 

in furtherance of the purposes of this Act
These three activities form an interrelated and selfreinforcing system in which, for example, next-generation 

atomic clocks are engineered to be smaller and more robust 

and thereby enable tomorrow’s measurement services.

NIST QIS Strategic Vision

NIST will fulfill its mission in QIS 

through three coordinated efforts:

• Foundational research emphasizing QIS 

and Metrology

• Applied research to engineer and improve 

the robustness of prototypes: Quantum 

Engineering

• Realization and Dissemination of the units 

of measure: The Quantum SI

Foundational 

Quantum 

Science and 

Metrology

Quantum Engineering

Quantum SI:

Realization of 

the Systéme

Internationale
NIST Existing Joint Institutes

Three collaborative 

institutes at two 

locations provide 

opportunities to:

• Attract world class 

scientists

• Train students and 

postdocs

• Transfer technology
JILA Background

• Joint institute of NIST and the University of 

Colorado (CU), established in 1962

• Physically located at CU - Boulder

• 30 JILA Fellows (12 NIST, 18 CU)

• 200 total people

• Known as a leading research center in:

• Astrophysics

• Atomic and Molecular Physics

• Biophysics

• Chemical Physics

• Laser Physics

• Nanoscience

• Precision Measurement

• Quantum Information
Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) Background

• Joint institute of NIST and the University 

of Maryland, modeled in part on JILA, 

and established in 2006

• Physically located at UMD - College Park

• 30 JQI Fellows (13 NIST, 16 UMD, and 1 

LPS)

• 200 people, and still growing

• Known as a leading center for quantum 

science, including:

• Cold quantum matter (AMO Physics)

• Quantum matter and materials (Condensed 

Matter Physics)

• Quantum Information

Labs of the JQI

College Park, Maryland
Joint Center for Quantum Information

in Computer Science (QuICS) Background

• Established in 2014

• Physically located at UMD - College Park

• 13 QuICS Fellows (6 NIST and 6 UMD)

• 5 Fellows (4 NIST, 1 UMD) are joint with JQI

• 60 people and growing

• Already a leading center for quantum 

information in computer science

• How does quantum mechanics inform the theory 

of computation and communication? 

• What insight does computer science shed on 

quantum computing? 

• What are the consequences of quantum 

information theory for fundamental physics?

• How can theoretical advances in computation 

and communication be applied?

QuICS

College Park, Maryland
The Power of One Quantum Bit

NIST-F2 laser-cooled atomic clock

1 second is defined as the duration of 

9,192,631,770 cycles of the cesium 

hyperfine transition.

• Frequency uncertainty: ∆f/f = 1 x 10-16

• 1 second in 300 million years.

• Enabled by laser cooling and trapping.

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

10-17

10-16

10-15

10-14

10-13

10-12

10-11

10-10

10-18

Year

Cesium Microwave

Primary Frequency 

Standards

Optical Frequency 

References

(Research)

NBS-1

NIST-F2

NIST optical 

frequency references

NIST-F1

NIST-7

NBS-6

• Optical frequency standards have shown better fractional 

uncertainty since 2005

• Possible redefinition of time being discussed for 2026
Quantum Logic Clock and Metrology

Science 329, 11630, 2010
Quantum Degenerate Fermi Gas Clock

• First application of a quantum degenerate gas to a “practical” 

measurement: A quantum-enhanced precision measurement

 ~1 million atoms: 100 x 100 x 100 in a 3D-optical lattice

 Pauli exclusion: Only one atom per lattice site

 Precision 3 x 10-20 in one second, on path to 10-22 in a few years

 Coherence time 160 seconds and improving

• Potential laboratory for fundamental physics, including quantum gravity, 

dark matter detection, and long-baseline astronomical observation

3D Fermi gas strontium (Sr) 

optical lattice clock

S.L. Campbell et al., Science 358, 

90 (2017); G.E. Marti et al., Phys. 

Rev. Lett. 120, 103201 (2018); Jun 

Ye group JILA, unpublished.
One Concept for a NIST Grand Challenge

Build a prototype 2-3 node Quantum Network that distributes, stores, and 

entangles states of matter for sufficient time to support R&D, sensing, and 

metrology using various technologies – e.g. long baseline entangled clocks 

Requires: Quantum memory, quantum repeaters, small quantum 

processors, transduction, quantum error correction, entanglement 

purification

Provides: A testbed for system components and standards and supports 

basic R&D

Allows: Development of improved components, entanglement of distant 

clocks or sensors, exploration of quantum enhanced long baseline 

interferometry
Quantum Information Timeline

0 5 10 ~15 20? 25??

Time (years)

Difficulty/Complexity

Quantum

Computation

The expected

The unlikely – impossible?

Quantum

Communication

The known

Quantum

Sensors

Quantum

Networks

Quantum

Measurement The as yet unimagined!!!

Quantum Engineered 

Photocells?

Quantum

Widgets

Quantum

Games & Toys

Quantum Networks for 

Relativistic Geodesy 
QUESTIONS?
Potential Questions for Discussion

• Is this a reasonable approach to NIST’s future activities in QIS?

• How does NIST determine the correct balance between quantum 

engineering, quantum metrology, and the quantum SI?

• What new methods for effective technology transfer of emerging 

quantum technologies should NIST explore? 

• Are there new new mechanisms and tools that lower barriers and 

enhance engagement between government, academia, and industry?

• In a larger quantum engineering effort what should be the role of 

centers?

• What should NIST focus on in a new center and why?

• Do you have advice about a quantum consortium?