JILA Fellow and CU Physics Professor Murray Holland
CU Boulder has proudly announced the winners of its prestigious 2023-2024 Translational Quantum Research Seed Grants, a crucial step in fostering quantum science and technology innovation. This year's selection includes JILA Fellow Murray Holland, a distinguished figure in the field of quantum physics, who has been recognized for his groundbreaking project, "Developing a strontium optical lattice atom interferometer."
Holland's work at CU Boulder's Department of Physics is among the three university-led projects to be honored, alongside four commercial enterprise-led initiatives. These grants, each amounting to $50,000 and spanning an 18-month period, are designed to bridge the gap between laboratory research and commercial viability, emphasizing the importance of translating academic discoveries into real-world applications.
The award of these grants follows the April 2023 decision by the Colorado Economic Development Commission to allocate nearly $1.5 million toward integrating basic and applied quantum research with Colorado’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. This initiative also aims to provide Colorado students with effective pathways into the quantum workforce.
Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, emphasized the state’s commitment to quantum innovation. "These seed grants are a critical step in linking laboratory discoveries to the commercial sector, reinforcing Colorado's position as a frontrunner in this revolutionary field," she said.
The grants are part of Colorado’s ongoing investment in quantum science and technology, a field in which the region has already achieved global recognition, partly due to the foundational work of institutions like CU Boulder, NIST, and JILA. With four Nobel Prizes in physics awarded to affiliated quantum researchers, the Boulder triad has been instrumental in shaping the global quantum landscape.
Written by Kenna Hughes-Castleberry
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.