President Trump on Friday signed into law H.R. 6227, the “National Quantum Initiative Act,” which establishes a National Quantum Initiative Program to accelerate Federal government efforts to develop quantum information science and technology applications. The legislation aims to establish goals and priorities for a ten-year plan to develop quantum science and applications. Toward that end, the bill authorizes establishment of a National Quantum Coordination Office in the White House Office of Science and Technology to serve as a central point of contact for stakeholders and promote commercialization of Federal research, support basic quantum science research and standards development at the National Institute for Standards and Technology. The legislation also calls on the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation to establish two to five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers. It would allow the Secretary of Energy to allocate up to $25 million annually per center for the next five years, and the director of NSF to allocate up to $10 million annually.
