Integrative Training in Quantum Assembly & Technology (InTriQATe) is an NRT program at the University of California, Santa Barbara which aims to prepare students for leadership in a diverse quantum workforce. It is increasingly clear that future advances in the rapidly developing field of quantum science and technology will require the combination of insights and techniques from multiple fields of science and engineering, as well as will benefit from recruiting new talents to the quantum field from diverse areas. Thus, achieving the promise of a “quantum leap” identified by the National Science Foundation will require a different kind of graduate training in quantum science, moving beyond the siloed and specialized instruction in separate departments that is the dominant model for graduate education today. The InTriQATe NRT program is an innovative and intrinsically multidisciplinary traineeship program focused around the central theme of quantum assembly: the integration of disparate quantum elements, and the bringing together of a diverse team of quantum scientists, to achieve new functionalities and behaviors.
The InTriQATe NRT program will transform our graduate curriculum with new classes on the modern toolset of convergent quantum science; professional training in oral and written communication, collaboration, and research ethics; and proactive and coordinated mentoring. The new classes will be at the core of a new PhD emphasis in quantum science & technology at UC Santa Barbara, open to all PhD candidates in participating departments. Trainees will nucleate an interdisciplinary quantum community, hosting regular campus-wide workshops, student-led seminars, and informal lunches. The main outcome of the InTriQATe NRT will be a sustainable thriving interdisciplinary quantum science community that is comprehensively trained, highly creative, and broadly welcoming.
Organization and Management
A central goal of the proposed NRT program is to build and strengthen a vibrant interdisciplinary community focused around the theme of quantum assembly and technology. The organization and management of the program will be structured with this goal in mind. An executive committee consisting of all Co-PIs plus the program coordinator will be responsible for overall direction of activities. Since more than ten UC Santa Barbara faculty have research interests relevant to this proposal, key faculty participants beyond the Co-PIs will be consulted and involved, as will the trainees themselves. An external advisory committee composed of leaders from industry and academia will provide feedback on alignment of activities with program goals and suggestions for improvement or adaptation. Coordination meetings with campus leadership will maximize institutional buy-in.
Lead PI David Weld is an expert in quantum dynamics with a longstanding focus on training activities. He is the coordinator of mentor training for the Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships, the founding PI of the UCSB SACNAS Career Pathways Program which supports career preparation for URM STEM students, and the coordinator of graduate education for the NSF Quantum Foundry. Co-PIs are experts in a broad range of research areas, from trapped molecules to DNA nanoassembly to quantum optics to solid-state heterostructures. Co-PIs have equally wide-ranging expertise in graduate training, from development of new classes to direct mentoring to founding of new professional development and graduate exchange programs.