September 12, 2006, College Park, MD--The University of Maryland (UM), the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Security Agency (NSA) announced the creation of a joint research institute designed to advance quantum physics research--deciphering the secrets of nature at the submicroscopic scale--and to exploit this knowledge to transform quantum technology from an exciting promise to practical reality.
A memorandum of understanding establishing the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) has been signed by C.D. Mote Jr., president of the university; William Jeffrey, director of NIST; and Frederick R. Chang, director of research for the NSA.
The institute will be located on the University of Maryland campus in College Park and will have an annual budget of approximately $6 million and a staff of about 20 scientists, half from the university and half from NIST. The staff will include experts in atomic physics, condensed matter and quantum information, including William D. Phillips, the 1997 Nobel laureate in physics, who is both a NIST Fellow and a Distinguished University Professor of Physics at Maryland.
The three participating institutions have a shared history of collaboration and cooperation in education, research and public service. They have long cooperated in building collaborative research consortia and programs that have resulted in extensive personal, professional and institutional relationships.
For more information, visit www.nist.gov and www.umd.edu.