Sixty early career researchers from a cross-section of academic disciplines – physics, chemistry, materials science, applied mathematics, computer science, engineering, and related fields – have been selected as Fellows to participate in a new Research Corporation for Science Advancement initiative, Scialog: Quantum Matter and Information.
Coinciding with the United Nations’ proclamation of 2025 as the “International Year of Quantum Science and Technology,” the initiative is designed to advance breakthroughs in novel quantum materials, precision measurement, sensing, and quantum information by convening scientists who do not normally collaborate to focus their collective thinking on advancing quantum science, a topic of global importance. Theorists and experimentalists will be brought together, spanning disciplinary boundaries that are often challenging to cross.
“A lot of people are working to advance fundamental understanding of the quantum world, but too many of them are working in silos,” said RCSA Program Director Eileen Spain, who leads the initiative. “We hope that Scialog’s unique process will help break down some of those barriers, lead to creative new science, and create a well-networked cohort of researchers ready to advance the field.”
Click here to see the list of Fellows and Facilitators selected to attend the first meeting in this series, which will be held Oct. 16–19, 2025, in Tucson, Arizona. The initiative is cosponsored by RCSA, the Brinson Foundation, and independent philanthropist Kevin Wells.
Scialog, short for “science + dialog,” was created by RCSA in 2010. At each conference, participants led by a group of senior Facilitators discuss challenges and bottlenecks, build community around visionary goals, and pitch proposals for seed funding to undertake blue-sky pilot projects.
Other current Scialog initiatives are Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, Automating Chemical Laboratories, Sustainable Minerals, Metals, and Materials, and Early Science with the LSST. Please see each initiative’s webpage for details on applying.