NSF adds 5 teams to National Quantum Virtual Lab competition

The U.S. National Science Foundation has chosen five new teams to design cutting-edge quantum technologies as part of its National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program. These projects range from long-distance quantum networks capable of preserving fragile information to advanced sensors able to detect subtle properties within a single cell. The teams will share $20 million in NSF funding and join four others selected in 2025. This initiative aligns with the Administration’s push to cement U.S. leadership in quantum innovation, as outlined in the recent Executive Order on Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation.

Currently in the design phase, the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory aims to democratize access to specialized quantum research resources for scientists across the country. Each of the five newly selected teams will receive $4 million over two years to refine their development plans and prepare for implementation. Their work will help build the testing and evaluation infrastructure needed to integrate three core quantum domains,sensors, networks, and computers,into a unified system that demonstrates practical quantum technologies.

“Across academia, government and industry, America has an unmatched array of brilliant people working on quantum science and tech with incredible potential to improve our quality of life,” says Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “But too often they are working independently in silos. We need to bring their talent and ideas together, and NSF is uniquely positioned to make that happen.”

The five teams embody this collaborative spirit, bringing together researchers and personnel from institutions of higher education across 20 states. Federal partners include the U. S. Department of War’s Air Force Research Laboratory, multiple U. S. Department of Energy national laboratories, NASA, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. More than two dozen U. S. companies, including Boeing, Honeywell, IonQ, NVIDIA, and Quantinuum, are also partnering to help scale up emerging quantum technologies.

NSF is also supporting education and training activities tied to these projects to strengthen the STEM workforce in the U. S. These efforts include co-developing evidence-based quantum science curricula with K-12 teachers for classroom use. Some researchers will visit schools to serve as role models and encourage young people to pursue careers in STEM.

The National Quantum Virtual Laboratory is a key part of NSF’s strategy to realize the vision of the National Quantum Initiative Act, passed by Congress in 2018. NSF expects to select the first teams to move from the design to the implementation phase later in 2026, pending congressional appropriations.

The five design projects and teams are:

Accelerating Fault-Tolerant Quantum Logic This team will develop fault-tolerant quantum computing logic by integrating the design of error-correcting code, hardware, and algorithms into a single, cohesive process.

Attosecond Synchronized Photonic Entanglement Network The team will design a high-fidelity quantum networking system that operates approximately 100,000 times faster than current networks and can transmit information over distances of about 60 miles.

Distributed-Entanglement Quantum Sensing of Chemical Properties This project will design novel sensors, including those made from protein-based qubits, that leverage entanglement and coherence to measure properties inside solid materials or living cells.

Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage The team will create new error-detection and correction methods for quantum computers using superconducting hardware to boost computing efficiency.

Quantum Photonic Integration and Deployment This team will design chip-based quantum sensor technology that is portable and rugged enough for field use, outside the highly controlled laser laboratory environments typically required.