ICYMI: Senator Hassan’s Provisions to Invest in Quantum Technology Included in NDAA

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, provisions that U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan authored and pushed to include in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) are in the final bill, including her bipartisan measures to strengthen national security by preparing for threats posed by emerging quantum technology. Senator Hassan’s provisions in the NDAA will:

• Expand existing public-private talent exchange programs in the Defense Department to include private sector entities working on quantum technology research & applications
• Authorize a fellowship program in the Defense Department for students focusing on quantum information science and technology research

Politico covered these and other quantum provisions in a recent Morning Tech newsletter. Read more below:

Politico Pro: What’s in-n-out of the NDAA

By Mallory Culhane

[…]Quantum wins: The NDAA includes a couple of provisions meant to accelerate U.S. quantum R&D and bring the tech into the real world. The final text includes provisions that boost the federal workforce and quantum talent pipeline, including expanding existing public-private talent exchange programs in the Department of Defense and authorizing a fellowship program at the Pentagon for those studying quantum and tech in college.

The final NDAA also authorizes a pilot program in the DOD to test and analyze how quantum technologies can be used for near-term applications, such as aiding in the development of advanced autonomous weapons or decrypting encrypted information. Allison Schwartz, vice president of global government relations and public affairs at quantum tech company D-Wave, said the pilot program will advance U.S. quantum efforts “by focusing on application development using quantum technology available today. The program is also inclusive of quantum annealing and gate-model systems as well as quantum-hybrid technologies.” […]

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