Skip to Content
Computing

President Trump has signed a $1.2 billion law to boost US quantum tech

December 22, 2018

The new National Quantum Initiative Act will give America a national master plan for advancing quantum technologies.
 
The news: The US president just signed into law a bill that commits the government to providing $1.2 billion to fund activities promoting quantum information science over an initial five-year period. The new law, which was signed just as a partial US government shutdown began, will provide a significant boost to research, and to efforts to develop a future quantum workforce in the country.
 
The background: Quantum computers leverage exotic phenomena from quantum physics to produce exponential leaps in computing power. The hope is that these machines will ultimately be able to outstrip even the most powerful classical supercomputers. Those same quantum phenomena can also be tapped to create highly secure communications networks and other advances.
 
China, which has been investing heavily in quantum technology, sees the field as an opportunity to leapfrog the US. The European Union has also launched a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) quantum master plan. America has a long history of investing in quantum science, but it’s lacked a comprehensive strategy for coordinating research efforts. The new legislation, which has strong bipartisan support in Congress, should help fix that.
 
The details: The act establishes a National Quantum Coordination Office that will be part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. It also calls for the development of a multi-year strategic plan to help keep America at the forefront of the quantum revolution. 

One important aim of the plan will be to create new research centers that bring together academics from different disciplines, such as computer science, physics, and engineering, to help conduct experiments and train future quantum researchers. It will also encourage large companies and startups to pool some of their knowledge and resources in joint research efforts with government institutes.

 

Deep Dive

Computing

Learning to code isn’t enough

Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.

IBM wants to build a 100,000-qubit quantum computer

The company wants to make large-scale quantum computers a reality within just 10 years.

The inside story of New York City’s 34-year-old social network, ECHO

Stacy Horn set out to create something new and very New York. She didn’t expect it to last so long.

Making the world a data-driven place with the cloud

Cloud data modernizations is a key enabler to spur innovation and get real value out of your data, says PwC’s Anil Nagaraj and Microsoft’s Kim Manis.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.