Expanding Capacity in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (ExpandQISE)

The NSF Expanding Capacity in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (ExpandQISE) program aims to increase research capacity and broaden participation in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) and related disciplines through the creation of a diversified investment portfolio in research and education that will lead to scientific and engineering breakthroughs, while securing a talent pipeline in a field where workforce needs of industry, government and academia continue to outgrow the available talent. This funding opportunity applies to Institutions of Higher Education that in the most recent five calendar years before publication of this solicitation received not more than $5,000,000 total in federal funding for QISE research as described in Focus areas 1, 2, and 3, in Section II “Program Description” of this solicitation.  The ExpandQISE program helps build and maintain a close connection between new efforts and existing impactful work done at the existing QISE Centers or leading QISE research Institutions, while creating and nurturing necessary critical mass at Institutions not yet fully involved in QISE. In keeping with the NSF goal of increasing the participation of all members of society in the scientific enterprise, institutions at which more than 50% of enrolled students come from groups that are currently under-represented in the sciences, e.g. minority-serving institutions (MSIs), are especially encouraged to apply.