LSU Receives Federal Grant to Develop Military Quantum Technologies

Louisiana State University is set to receive around $1 million USD in funding to develop quantum technologies.

On Monday, Louisiana State University physics professor Jonathan Dowling announced that the university will be receiving a federal grant within the next five years to develop quantum technologies.

The project will focus on augmenting the performance and functionalities of quantum computers and sensors.

The academic institution was given the “Quantum control based on real-time environment analysis by spectator qubits” grant by the United States Army Reserve Office.

According to a report from NOLA, the Army Reserve has awarded over $7 million in funding to different research institutions. The report adds: “The university stated this technological advancement, along with others from the program, impact current and future military capabilities.”

The list includes:

• LSU
• University of California, Berkeley
• Dartmouth University
• Duke University
• Johns Hopkins University Applied Research Lab
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• University of Oregon

The grant is said to be part of the Department of Defense‘s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program (MURI).

Read More: Quantum Technology Creates “Hack Proof” Internet

“MURI supports research by funding teams of investigators that include more than one traditional science and engineering discipline in order to accelerate the research progress,” Dale Ormond, principal director for research in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said.

 “MURI awards also support the education and training of graduate students in cutting-edge research areas.”

Dowling was also quoted as saying:

“We are currently in the midst of a second quantum revolution. The first quantum revolution gave us new rules that govern physical reality. The second quantum revolution will take these rules and use them to develop new technologies.”

Read More: How Close are we to Quantum Infrastructure? An Introduction

In the past three decades, the Department of Defense’s MURI program has reportedly augmented the capabilities of the military and opened new lines of research.

One of the most notables among these research studies was the fabrication of nanoscale and microscale structures through self-assembled materials processes.

Do you think the military’s efforts to fund such projects is worth the money involved?