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Lawmakers Provide Significant Boost in Funding for National Quantum Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Photonics Initiative, a broad-based collaborative alliance among industry, academia, and government to raise awareness of optics, photonics and quantum science and technology, is applauding lawmakers for providing significant funding increases for quantum research and new quantum centers for the next fiscal year.

Following the implementation of the National Quantum Initiative Act in 2018, lawmakers have approved over $300 million for quantum research and centers for the coming fiscal year. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 1865, includes increased funding for Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, including $195 million for Quantum Information Science, including $75 million for DOE quantum centers. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) also received an $10 million increase for its quantum funding above last year's budget totals. Additionally, the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget will receive a recommended $106 million for quantum research, including $50 million for quantum research centers.

“This additional funding will allow for scientific and technological breakthroughs that will stimulate economic growth and help U.S. researchers and developers keep pace with accelerating global competitiveness,” said Ed White, Chair of the NPI Steering Committee and Vice President Test, Assembly and Packaging for AIM Photonics. “Additionally, the funding provided in this bill will help bridge significant workforce gaps that currently exist between the leading quantum researchers and industrial product developers. These kinds of investments are critical to growing this new and exciting sector in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce. We applaud Congress for approving this legislation and look forward to working with policymakers on these important initiatives in the coming year.”
 


About the NPI: The National Photonics Initiative (NPI) is a collaborative alliance among industry, academia and government to raise awareness of photonics and the impact of photonics on our everyday lives; increase cooperation and coordination among US industry, government and academia to advance photonics-driven fields; and drive US funding and investment in areas of photonics critical to maintaining US economic competitiveness and national security. The initiative is being led by top scientific societies including the American Physical Society (APS), the IEEE Photonics Society, the Laser Institute of America (LIA), The Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics. For more information visit www.lightourfuture.org.