DARPA-SN-21-22 Quantum Benchmarking Proposers Day.pdf

DARPA-SN-21-22 Quantum Benchmarking Proposers Day Webcast

Special Notice (SN) DARPA-SN-21-22

Quantum Benchmarking

Proposers Day

April 20, 2021

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a Proposers Day webcast to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Quantum Benchmarking program. The Proposers Day will be held via webcast on April 20, 2021 from 11:00 AM to

5:00 PM. Advance registration is required for viewing the webcast. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.

The goals of the Quantum Benchmarking Proposers Day are to (a) introduce the research community (Proposers, Academia, and Government) to the Quantum Benchmarking program vision and goals, (b) explain the mechanics of a DARPA program and the milestones of this particular effort, and (c) encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing a research and development program responsive to the Quantum Benchmarking program goals.

The Quantum Benchmarking BAA was published April 1, 2021. The BAA is available on https://beta.sam.gov/ and on http://www.grants.gov/. Following the event, DARPA may post the presented materials as well as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list to the

DARPA/DSO Opportunities website.

To maximize the pool of innovative proposal concepts, DARPA strongly encourages participation by non‐traditional proposers (including small businesses, academic and research institutions, and first‐time government contractors) in events such as this and any subsequent solicitation.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE AND DESCRIPTION

It has been credibly hypothesized that quantum computers will revolutionize multiple scientific and technical fields within the next few decades; examples include machine learning, quantum chemistry, materials discovery, molecular simulation, many-body physics, classification, nonlinear dynamics, supply chain optimization, drug discovery, battery catalysis, genomic analysis, fluid dynamics, and protein structure prediction.

While there has been remarkable progress in developing quantum computers over the past 20+ years, it remains uncertain exactly what size, quality, and configuration of quantum system – if any – will enable the hypothesized revolutionary advances.

The Quantum Benchmarking program seeks to eliminate this uncertainty by taking a fundamentally different approach to assessing the long-term utility of quantum systems – developing computing benchmarks for a variety of scientific and technical fields that do not inherently assume classical limitations. These benchmarks will be hardware-agnostic, focusing on the core enabling computational capabilities that could enable revolutionary advances in the fields listed above. As a result, success will require collaboration between quantum computing experts and application-domain experts with a deep understanding of the classical state of the art and the potential impact of new computing capabilities. In parallel, tools will be developed for estimating the computational-paradigm-specific hardware resources needed to achieve specific benchmark performance thresholds. These resource https://beta.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ estimates will include both the quantum and classical resources needed to operate a candidate quantum machine at all problem scales. Specifically, in-scope will be an analysis of fault-tolerant quantum hardware paradigms.

TEAMING

DARPA highly encourages teaming before proposal submission and will facilitate the formation of teams with the necessary expertise. Potential proposers may choose to participate in either, none or both of the following options:

1. Attendee List (publicly available): participant contact information (name, organization, email address) will be included on a Quantum Benchmarking Proposers Day Attendee

List published on the DSO Opportunities website. The registration website will ask registrants to indicate whether they approve publication of their contact information.

2. Proposer Profile List (limited distribution): interested parties shall submit a one-page profile consisting of their contact information (name, organization, email, telephone number, mailing address and, if applicable, organization website), a brief description of their technical competencies, and, if applicable, their desired expertise from other teams/organizations. All profiles must be emailed to

QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil no later than 12:00 PM on April 26, 2021.

Following the deadline, the consolidated teaming profiles will be sent via email to the proposers who submitted a valid profile. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither

DARPA nor the DoD endorses the information and organizations contained in the consolidated teaming profile document, nor does DARPA or the DoD exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the teaming profiles.

LIGHTNING TALKS

Attendees may be afforded the opportunity to give a brief 3-minute oral presentation during the webcast outlining their interests and capabilities. The purpose of these presentations is to facilitate teaming discussions among the attendees. Upon registering, attendees may indicate if they would like to give an oral presentation. Due to limited availability, DARPA will accept submissions on a first-come, first-served basis, and does not guarantee that these requests to brief will be fulfilled. Submitted briefing materials should use the template provided via the registration website and are limited to a single, PDF-format slide, which should be appropriate for public release, as they will be shared with the session via webcast.

The slide must be submitted to QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil by 12:00 PM on April

13, 2021. DARPA will contact submitters upon receipt of their slide with additional guidance for the webcast.

SIDEBARS

In addition, there will be an opportunity to meet individually with the Program Manager, Joseph Altepeter, Ph.D. Eight-minute individual meetings will be held during Proposers Day between 3:00 PM-3:30 PM and 4:30 PM-5:00 PM. Please request an individual/team

(limited to four [4] people per team) session via the registration website. Requests must be received no later than the registration cutoff date. Individual meetings will be scheduled on a space-available basis.

mailto:QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil mailto:QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The Quantum Benchmarking Proposers Day will be webcast on April 20, 2021 from 11:00

AM to 5:00 PM. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time. There is no registration fee for the Proposers Day webcast.

Registration opens: As of publication of this announcement.

Registration website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/QuantumBenchmarkingProposersDay/

Registration closes: April 15, 2021 at 05:00 PM or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

Advance registration via the above website is required in order to receive access to the webcast and is mandatory for every individual intending to view the webcast either alone or as part of a group.

Registrants in excess of the maximum capacity limitations (500 individuals) may be added to a waitlist. Individuals who are unable to register because the deadline has occurred may request to be added to the waitlist. If slots become available due to cancellations, the slots may be filled on a first come, first served basis from the waitlist.

ELIGIBILITY

DARPA hosts Proposers Days to (1) promote teaming arrangements between researchers, (2) provide potential proposers with information on whether and how they might respond to the government’s research and development solicitations, and (3) increase efficiency in proposal preparation and evaluation. Therefore, Proposers Days are only open to registered potential proposers, i.e., the events are closed to the general public and media. For this particular program, Proposers Day registration is open to potential proposers who are U.S. citizens, U.S.

permanent residents, and foreign nationals.

All registrants who are not U.S. Citizens must complete and submit either a DARPA Form 60

(U.S. Permanent Resident and Foreign National Visit Request – e.g., industry or academia) or an Official Visit Request (foreign government personnel, only) through the Embassy based in

Washington, DC, no later than 05:00 PM on April 12, 2021. Form 60 submission instructions are provided on the registration website and in the registration confirmation email. Contact your embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request.

Q & A

Administrative, technical, and contractual questions about the Quantum Benchmarking should be emailed to QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil. All questions must be in English and must include the name and email address of a point of contact. Questions received prior to 12:40 PM on April 20, 2021 will be answered during the webcast as time allows.

Following the Proposers Day, DARPA will post an FAQ list to the DARPA/DSO

Opportunities website.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please refer to the Quantum Benchmarking Proposers Day in all correspondence.

• Technical Point of Contact: Joseph Altepeter, Program Manager, QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil

• Registration Website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/QuantumBenchmarkingProposersDay/ https://events.sa-meetings.com/QuantumBenchmarkingProposersDay/ mailto:QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil mailto:QuantumBenchmarking@darpa.mil https://events.sa-meetings.com/QuantumBenchmarkingProposersDay/ https://events.sa-meetings.com/QuantumBenchmarkingProposersDay/

• DARPA/DSO Opportunities Website: https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities

DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES

Viewing the Quantum Benchmarking Proposers Day webcast is voluntary and is not required to propose to the Quantum Benchmarking BAA. Interested parties to this notice are cautioned that nothing herein obligates the Government to issue a solicitation. The Proposers Day does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. This announcement is issued solely for information and program planning purposes and is not a Request for Information

(RFI). Since this is not an RFI, no submissions against this notice will be accepted by the

Government. No classified, ITAR controlled, or proprietary information shall be included in submitted materials or shall be presented or discussed at the Proposers Day. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred to participate in this Proposers Day. Recording the

Proposers Day webcast is not permitted.

https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities?oFilter=DSO https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities?oFilter=DSO