Maryland is partnering with a Department of Defense agency in a multi-million dollar effort aimed at making College Park the global “capital of quantum,” an emerging field of computer science that some believe could be revolutionary. The agreement does not establish specific funding levels, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said. The agency and the state have agreed to provide matching contributions of up to $100 million each over a four-year period. Moore has set a goal of attracting $1 billion in public and private investment in the quantum sector by the year 2030.
What’s quantum: A focus of the deal with DARPA will determine whether or not quantum science, the study of matter and energy, can evolve into quantum computers that will then solve complicated problems better and faster than current technology. The agreement establishes a hub at the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, where researchers will test and evaluate quantum computing prototypes.
