On Aug. 4, 2020, Yale University announced it was among the core partners of the new Center for Quantum Networks (CQN), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). With the University of Arizona serving as the lead institute and host, the center will be funded with an initial five-year, $26 million grant from the National Science Foundation, with an additional five-year $24.6 million option.

In addition to Yale, partners include Brigham Young University, Harvard University, Howard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northern Arizona University, University of Chicago, University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Oregon.

The center is part of the NSF’s Engineering Research Center (ERC) program, which supports education, technology translation and research at U.S. universities designed to have strong societal impacts. Although they’re initially funded by the NSF, ERCs are expected to be self-sustaining within 10 years.

CQN aims to lay the foundations of the quantum internet – a communications network that would be more secure and could work with the next generation of computers. The CQN will also investigate the impact of a future quantum internet on education, workforce development, innovation and society. 

The center is one of the NSF’s four new engineering research centers announced Tuesday. The other centers will focus on extending the viability of cells, tissues, organs and organisms; designing sustainable infrastructure for electrified vehicles; and realizing precision agriculture.