Since receiving its award in 2020, the Accelerating Quantum-Enabled Technologies (AQET) program has pursued an ambitious vision: to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers to lead the emerging Quantum 2.0 revolution. In August 2026, AQET will successfully conclude its National Science Foundation Research Traineeship with a lasting impact on graduate education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and quantum workforce development at the University of Washington.
AQET was established with the goal of creating a sustainable, transcriptable training program in Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) that bridges traditional disciplinary boundaries. Recognizing that future advances in quantum technologies would require expertise spanning physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and computer science, the program sought to prepare PhD students from diverse academic backgrounds to work together on the complex challenges of quantum-enabled technologies.
Perhaps the most enduring outcome of AQET is the establishment of the Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) Graduate Certificate. Developed through a curriculum created by the NRT, and available to UW graduate students, the certificate transformed AQET’s educational innovations into a permanent University of Washington curriculum. More than 50 students have earned QISE Certificates since the first certificate was granted in July 2023. An additional 38 students are currently enrolled in the certificate program, representing Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science and Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering, ensuring a continued pipeline of quantum-trained researchers beyond the grant period.
AQET celebrates the 37 fellows, 46 scholars and countless faculty and staff members that contributed to its success.
Learn more about our QISE Certificate here.