Enabling Quantum Leap: Convergent Accelerated Discovery Foundries for Quantum Materials Science, Engineering and Information | 18 578

Opportunity Information: Apply for 18 578

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity "Enabling Quantum Leap: Convergent Accelerated Discovery Foundries for Quantum Materials Science, Engineering and Information" (Q-AMASE-i) is designed to speed up the end-to-end pipeline for quantum technology development, from discovering and designing new quantum materials to building and testing prototype quantum devices and ultimately translating research advances into components relevant for quantum systems and networks. The program is jointly led by NSF units that cover key parts of this pipeline: the Division of Materials Research (DMR) for materials discovery and characterization, the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) for the mathematical and algorithmic foundations that enable accelerated discovery, the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) for device, system, and engineering translation, and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) for the computing, data, and cyberinfrastructure needed to support modern, data-intensive research workflows. The core idea is to treat quantum materials and quantum device development as a convergent, tightly integrated effort rather than a set of disconnected academic projects.

The centerpiece of the solicitation is the creation of "Foundries" that provide mid-scale shared infrastructure and coordinated expertise for rapid prototyping and development. In practice, these Foundries are meant to function like high-impact, community-facing hubs that can shorten iteration cycles: design a material or device concept, synthesize or fabricate it, characterize performance with advanced measurement tools, learn from the data, and quickly loop back to improved designs. By funding not just isolated research tasks but an integrated prototyping environment, NSF aims to remove common bottlenecks in quantum R&D such as limited access to specialized fabrication capabilities, slow turnaround for characterization, fragmented data practices, and lack of standardized, shareable tools and methods.

A major requirement and differentiator of Q-AMASE-i is the expectation that outputs will be broadly shared with the wider science and engineering community. The solicitation emphasizes that new materials, devices, tools, and methods developed through the Foundries should not remain confined to a single institution or team. Instead, they are intended to be disseminated through a Foundry-operated network, effectively creating a user-oriented ecosystem where other researchers can benefit from capabilities, protocols, and advances developed under the program. This community-sharing orientation aligns the Foundries with a service-and-impact model: success is tied not only to scientific breakthroughs, but also to enabling many external users to accelerate their own research and device development.

The opportunity also places clear emphasis on technology transfer and real-world translation, specifically by encouraging close cooperation with industrial partners. The intent is to keep Foundry work connected to practical pathways for scale-up, manufacturability, reliability, and integration into devices and larger systems, while still supporting fundamental research. Industry collaboration is positioned as a way to help move promising materials and device concepts out of the lab, reduce the gap between academic demonstrations and deployable components, and ensure that the developed methods and prototypes are aligned with emerging needs in quantum computing, sensing, communications, and networking.

From a funding and structure standpoint, NSF anticipated making around five awards, each at a very large scale compared with typical single-investigator grants. Awards were expected to total about $20 million to $25 million over an initial six-year period (with the award ceiling listed as $25 million). Importantly, these Foundries are planned as cooperative agreements rather than standard grants, signaling that NSF expects substantial ongoing engagement in project oversight, coordination, and performance management. The initial commitment is six years, with the possibility of one additional six-year renewal if the Foundry performs strongly and passes a rigorous NSF review, creating a potential 12-year horizon for the highest-performing centers.

Performance management is built into the award model through recurring reviews and site visits. NSF planned an annual performance review process that includes evaluation of the first-year annual report, site visits after the second and fourth years of Foundry activities, and additional "reverse" or program management site visits after the third and fifth years. Continued funding beyond the second year is explicitly tied to demonstrated progress and quality of performance documented during these reviews and site visits. This structure is meant to keep the Foundries accountable to measurable outcomes such as throughput and quality of prototyping, effectiveness of community access and sharing, progress in developing tools and methods, integration across disciplines, and success in moving results toward device- and system-relevant demonstrations.

Administratively, the opportunity is an NSF discretionary research and development program (CFDA numbers 47.041, 47.049, 47.070) under Funding Opportunity Number 18-578. The original posting dates indicate it was created on August 2, 2018, with an original closing date of November 5, 2018. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification referenced in the full solicitation text, which typically signals that proposals may be expected from complex, multi-institutional teams capable of operating shared infrastructure and managing a community-serving network.

Overall, Q-AMASE-i is best understood as a major NSF investment in building coordinated, mid-scale quantum materials and device development hubs that combine experimental infrastructure, mathematical and computational acceleration, and engineering translation. The program aims to compress the time from discovery to prototype, spread the benefits through a networked user community, and keep pathways open for industry-linked technology transfer, all under an accountability framework suited to high-dollar, high-impact cooperative agreements.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Enabling Quantum Leap: Convergent Accelerated Discovery Foundries for Quantum Materials Science, Engineering and Information" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.070.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 02, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 05, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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