NSF Renews Support for Quantum Research Hub That Includes CSUSM

The U.S. National Science Foundation is renewing its support for the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation (NSF CIQC), a multi-institutional research center spanning California and led by UC Berkeley.

The far-reaching grant will supply UC Berkeley and its partner institutions' advanced quantum research hub with $37.5 million in funding over the next five years to address three priority research challenges: discovering and realizing the power of quantum computation, understanding nature through the lens of quantum information science, and developing quantum technologies and their applications.

"For more than four decades, NSF has been laying the foundational groundwork of research and discovery that is powering today's modern quantum computing, sensing and communication," said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. "It's time for focused activities to leverage that base of knowledge to drive us even farther forward to the benefit of all Americans. The NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes are a next step for us in understanding the quantum world we live in."

The renewal of the NSF CIQC will feature several new initiatives. Cal State San Marcos and Cal State East Bay will anchor plans to establish systemwide degree programs in quantum information science, and the Computer History Museum and Berkeley Oral History Center will document the history of quantum computing in real time as it unfolds.

"We pride ourselves on creating exceptional opportunities for our students and connecting them with cutting-edge work that is shaping the future." said Charles De Leone, dean of graduate studies and research at CSUSM. "Being part of the CIQC is a great example of that commitment. This partnership gives our students access to a field that is rapidly advancing and creates opportunities they might not find at many other universities. We're proud to be part of this effort and to help prepare the next generation of California's quantum workforce."

"By uniting world-renowned research institutions and partnering with the California State University system, the CIQC will not only address long-term challenges in quantum computing, it will also expand access to education and career pathways," said Justin Perron, a physics professor at CSUSM. "This effort builds on CSUSM's leadership in quantum education and workforce development, and we are excited to work with our CIQC partners to build California's quantum future at such a pivotal time."

The NSF CIQC was founded in 2020, as one of the five original NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes motivated by the National Quantum Initiative Act's call to strengthen America's scientific leadership in foundational quantum information research.

True to the nature of quantum information science, the institute is multidisciplinary, combining expertise in chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics and physics. Researchers explore how to harness quantum systems to create next-generation technologies for sensors, computing and communications.

Through collaborative efforts over the past six years, the institute's researchers have stress-tested claims of quantum computers that outperform classical ones, stimulating aggressive development by the quantum industry. By asking how quantum information evolves within physical systems, they discovered new kinds of phase transitions and established rigorous insights on the structure of quantum matter. They also advanced frontier research on neutral-atom platforms for quantum computing, setting the stage for the current explosion of activity and investment in such systems.

"The renewal and expansion of the NSF CIQC is a momentous event for the field of quantum science and for the quantum ecosystem in the state of California," said Shimon Kolkowitz, the Herst Chair in Physics at UC Berkeley. "This center enables and enhances large-scale academic collaboration on basic quantum research at a pivotal moment for the field."

By linking leading quantum research teams and educational initiatives across the state of California, the NSF CIQC serves as the backbone of an integrated, statewide ecosystem. UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology are core research partners.

The renewal of the institute recognizes the growing energy around quantum and builds on the long history of exceptional quantum research in California. Notably, the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus John Clarke, together with his former postdoctoral fellow Michel Devoret and graduate student John Martinis (both now on the UC Santa Barbara faculty), for quantum tunneling experiments that lay the groundwork for today's superconducting quantum computers.