In 2021, one student at Parkway Middle School was introduced to computer science for the first time through Computer Science Education Week. It gave him, and others, an opportunity to finally learn computer science and programs robots.

As quantum computing is the next stage of computing because it allows computations to be performed at exponential rates, it is important for the United States to be the world’s leader. However, the U.S. doesn’t have enough trained individuals in the space to work in quantum. At the same time, countries like China are pushing ahead at the speed of light.

The U.S. Congress should amend the National Quantum Initiative Act to directly bring quantum information science & technology (QIST) education to high school and undergraduate students around the nation by providing funding and programs for institutions to inform students on QIST. Expanding this early education in QIST will lead to a diverse quantum workforce in the government and private sector to support the economy, while also increasing the opportunities for foundational and advanced STEM education for low-income and minority students.

Introducing QIST education to high school students will allow minorities and historically underrepresented students the ability to future build their fundamental STEM skills. This is because quantum computing is a multidisciplinary field covering each area of STEM. At the same time, students around the nation will be able to learn advanced concepts to push their academic abilities.

This knowledge will also prepare students to apply their knowledge in the future quantum workforce, which will combat the diminishing labor force in the technology industry. Not only will this lead to full employment, but cause economic growth from the expansion into new technology.

Due to the significant amount of natural and human resources needed to develop fault-tolerant (error-proof) quantum computers, in time it may seem to be unfeasible to perform computations at exponential rates. This would create the latent outcome of a considerable amount of money spend. Microsoft, in fact, retracted a paper regarding this when developing quantum technologies in 2018.

Since then, companies like Google and IBM, have proven that quantum computing is more likely feasible than not as they have developed quantum computers according to their timeline. Additionally, researchers have found advantages for machine learning in quantum computing.

I believe it is important to raise awareness and spread the need for amending the National Quantum Initiative Act. As such, I have started to develop a website to address this very issue. Please feel free to read, browse, and share it: https://quantumed.vercel.app/.