Conference: Quantum Imaging and Quantum Sensing (QIQS) Workshop

Nontechnical Description Quantum sensing harnesses the unique properties of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement to achieve better performance and new sensing modalities beyond the reach of classical sensors. In a similar and partially overlapping direction, quantum imaging aims to use photons, electrons and atoms, be it natural or artificial, to bypass sensitivity and resolution limits imposed on classical imaging techniques. Recently, there has been a surge in interest to use quantum sensing for biomedical applications, but a large part of this effort has been in ideal lab environments. Hence, significant brainstorming can inform the next steps to find approaches on how to accelerate the translation of fundamental in-lab quantum sensors to practical deployed systems, mirroring some of the translation happening in navigation and timekeeping applications. This project will organize a Quantum Imaging and Quantum Sensing workshop to bring together interdisciplinary experts spanning quantum physicists, biomedical engineers, clinicians and end users, to discuss and roadmap such translational efforts. The inputs from these communities will help to identify the most promising opportunities for translating quantum sensing technologies into real-world applications. Participants will examine where quantum approaches can provide meaningful advantages over existing technologies and identify the scientific, engineering, and infrastructure challenges that must be overcome for widespread adoption. The workshop has the potential to form new collaborations, provide professional opportunities and exposure for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career investigators, and strengthen connections among academia, industry, national laboratories, healthcare professionals, and federal agencies. Technical Description This project will convene a two-day interdisciplinary workshop focused on quantum sensing and bioimaging, with particular emphasis on identifying research directions that can accelerate the transition of quantum sensing technologies from laboratory demonstrations to deployable biomedical instrumentation. The workshop will bring together researchers from academia, national laboratories, industry, federal agencies, and the biomedical community. It will combine keynote presentations, technical sessions, panel discussions, and facilitated breakout sessions to examine key scientific and engineering challenges, including performance benchmarking against classical state of the art, validation protocols, interoperability with existing biomedical imaging workflows, calibration methods, shared testbeds, manufacturability, enabling hardware platforms, standards, software, and data infrastructure. Discussions will also consider translational pathways and lessons from quantum sensing applications in positioning, navigation, and timing. A principal outcome of the workshop will be a set of guidelines or roadmaps identifying priority research directions, benchmark metrics, enabling infrastructure, and cross-sector partnerships needed in the near term to the intermediate term to accelerate quantum sensing technologies toward practical societal applications. 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.