QuSTEAM: Convergent undergraduate education in Quantum Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics

Award ID: 2134832

The NSF Convergence Accelerator program supports use-inspired, team-based, multidisciplinary efforts that address challenges of national importance and will produce deliverables of value to society in the near future. The goal of this project is to develop QuSTEAM (Quantum Information Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), a transformational undergraduate curriculum that will provide a national educational model for the emerging field of quantum information science and engineering (QISE). The intellectual merit of this project is in development of a QuSTEAM curricular structure using evidenced-based research to determine the scientific and engineering practices that will be required of the future quantum smart workforce. Our curriculum will serve as a national standard for QISE education. This new curricular structure will be designed from the ground up to address structural barriers that have to date limited the diversity and inclusiveness of STEM training and will include concurrent training in the societal impact of QISE technologies by incorporating content beyond traditional STEM disciplines. The key outputs of our research will be: (i) A schematic of interdisciplinary modules that details how the building blocks of QISE-competency can be organized for different educational targets (module, class, minor, and certificate). (ii) A map of steps taken to actively promote equity and inclusivity in the curriculum that will serve as a model for future curricular development. (iii) Individual course curricula that demonstrate the implementation of QuSTEAM. The broader impacts of this project will be in creation of a quantum smart workforce will have a transformative effect on the US economy and society. The QuSTEAM curriculum, and the methodology used in developing it, will be made publicly available to serve as a template for the development of convergent curricula in other subjects. "" 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.

NSF Program Director: Pradeep Fulay