Category II: TangleLab: A National Hybrid Computing Platform to Unlock Quantum Information Science and Engineering Research and Education

TangleLab is the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) hybrid quantum-classical computing testbed, providing novel national cyberinfrastructure capabilities to the research and education community through the NSF Advanced Computing Systems & Services (ACSS) program. Developed through a partnership among PSC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Rigetti Computing, TangleLab combines GPU-accelerated compute nodes with a superconducting circuit quantum processor and the supporting quantum and classical management, data, and cooling infrastructure. The architecture is informed by science drivers from critical domains in national investment priorities, including quantum information science and artificial intelligence. By integrating quantum and classical resources, TangleLab will advance computer science and systems engineering innovation and help shape a future national cyberinfrastructure ecosystem defined by complex, heterogeneous, and federated architectures. Flexible allocation and scheduling mechanisms will support dedicated system use for researchers and real-time access for educators teaching classes and workshops. A structured support framework, including on-boarding, training, and in-depth research consulting, will help researchers prototype and scale hybrid quantum-classical applications while ensuring educators have the resources needed for curricular activities. TangleLab will also support quantum workforce development by providing expertly supported resources for graduate and undergraduate courses and fostering a collaborative curriculum-development community in partnership with industry. These efforts align with national goals to support gold-standard science, build the future science and technology workforce, expand world-class research infrastructure, and strengthen America’s S&T ecosystem. 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.