Montana State University and the University of Arkansas Will Establish the MonArk Quantum Foundry With $20M from National Science Foundation

(Montana.edu) Montana State University and the University of Arkansas will establish the MonArk Quantum Foundry with a recent $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation that seeks to accelerate the development of quantum materials and devices.
With a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Montana State University and the University of Arkansas will establish the MonArk Quantum Foundry to accelerate the development of quantum materials and devices. The foundry will assist those studying 2D materials for quantum technologies by creating tools to aid their research and infrastructure to facilitate the exchange of ideas across academia and industry.
“It’s not that we’re going to create the next sensor or the next quantum computer,” said Yves Idzerda, the director of the MonArk Quantum Foundry, dean of the College of Letters and Science and professor in the Department of Physics at MSU. “We’re going to create either the technology, the instrumentation or the devices which will allow for these breakthroughs to occur.”
The MonArk Quantum Foundry is directed by Yves Idzerda, dean of the College of Letters and Science and professor in the Department of Physics at MSU.
The MonArk Quantum Foundry is only the second research group in the country funded by the NSF’s Enabling Quantum Leap: Convergent Accelerated Discovery Foundries for Quantum Materials Science, Engineering and Information program, which is designed to create connections between science and industry. Before industry can move forward, new technologies must lay the foundation for its advancement.
“That’s the idea of a foundry,” Idzerda said. “You do basic research, but always look for the industrial connection.”