ExpandQISE: Track 2: QuAPB, Expanding Quantum Research and Education at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Non-Technical description:

QuAPB is an integrated research and education activity led by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) in the area of quantum materials and devices for integrated quantum photonics. This first-of-its-kind quantum center in Central Arkansas is propelled by close collaboration with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (UAF).

This new project establishes the first graduate program in the physical sciences at UAPB, adds Quantum Information Science and Engineering faculty at UAPB, reorients several nanomaterials experts at UALR and UAPB toward quantum applications, creates a hands-on quantum laboratory course for BS/MS students, and powers a diverse pipeline of quantum trainees from the high school to master's levels. Research priorities of QuAPB include the synthesis and integration of twisted stacks of quantum materials that enjoy built-in advantages for quantum light sources.

Education and outreach activities include the new degree program, new laboratory and classroom-based courses, and public engagement focused on exciting K-12 students about quantum careers to create the pipeline of students that ensures the long-term sustainability of QuAPB. Technical description:

Research within QuAPB focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and application of moiré quantum materials, supplemented by participants at UALR who synthesize quantum dots for a novel, non-avalanche single-photon detection scheme. Participants at UAF fabricate quantum photonic chips that integrate the emitters from UAPB, the detectors from UALR, and two-dimensional nonlinear optical elements fabricated at the MonArk NSF Quantum Foundry.

The result is the creation, characterization, and optimization of two-dimensional integrated quantum photonic devices with superior performance in terms of strong light-matter interaction, ease of integration into quantum photonic circuits, and capability to interface with other quantum degrees of freedom such as spin and valley present in some two-dimensional materials. The expanded quantum workforce produced by UAPB, an HBCU, helps to diversify academic and industrial institutions contributing to the development of quantum technologies.

These efforts also engage untapped human resources for quantum science and engineering in an underserved region of the United States, Central Arkansas. A new five-year BS/MS program transforms the research-related educational capabilities at UAPB, allows trainees to make full use of UAPB's integrated quantum photonics facility, and establishes a new hands-on quantum education laboratory providing essential training needed by graduates entering the quantum workforce.

The project is co-funded by The Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA), Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), and Estab­lished Program to Stim­u­late Com­pet­i­tive Research (EPSCoR).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.