Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to provide up to $12 million for basic research on advanced 5G and quantum networking. Our modern life has been transformed by wireless and cellular networks, creating a world where humans all over the globe can communicate with each other instantaneously. Research on advanced wireless networks enabling this connectivity can help us apply these same benefits to our scientific facilities, increasing mobility and agility and paving the way to developing new sensing instrumentation to collect data in remote, relatively inaccessible locations such as rural communities or other areas with limited network access.
The two efforts launched by DOE today are aimed at harnessing current and future networking capabilities to build on DOE’s 40-plus-year investments in the Energy Science Network (ESnet), a world-class research network connecting all DOE National Laboratories and scientific user facilities. The goal is to use advanced networking to accelerate progress in science and technology.
Under this announcement, up to $6 million will be devoted to transforming or enhancing scientific research by using advanced 5G wireless networking technologies to build the tools, applications, and infrastructure needed to explore new scientific discoveries. Along with field experiments and remote laboratories, every aspect of DOE’s science research will be affected by 5G, which has the potential to completely renovate the nation’s information infrastructure. Applications for the 5G awards will be open to DOE laboratories.
An additional $6 million will be allocated to advance understanding of how quantum entanglement, a state in which the behavior of two different particles are linked, operates in quantum networks, to aid in the development of future quantum networks. The combination of quantum computing and quantum networks are crucial to the DOE’s mission to provide scientists with the state-of-the-art computational capabilities. Quantum networks have shown potential in applications like disaster preparedness modeling, which could decrease power outages from climate-related weather events. This research will help to ensure U.S. global competitiveness with quantum research taking place in other countries. Applications for quantum networking awards will be open to universities and nonprofit institutions as well DOE laboratories.
Total planned funding for the two initiatives is $12 million in Fiscal Year 2021 dollars for awards of three years in duration. Awards will be selected based on peer review.
The full text of the two Funding Opportunity Announcements can be found on the funding opportunities page of the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research within DOE’s Office of Science.