11 Artificial Intelligence, 6 quantum projects get $2 million in research grants
Eleven research project on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and six projects to research quantum projects will receive nearly $1,20,000 each, totalling over $2 million in grants for joint research and development.
The awards were announced at an event hosted by US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, who was accompanied by Dr Seth Center, Acting Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies at the US Department of State.
India’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh and Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology Abhay Karandikar, along with Principal Science Adviser to the Government of India Ajay Sood, along with the leadership of the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), were at the event to celebrate the announcement of 17 winners for joint research, development, and commercialisation projects under the USISTEF 'Quantum Technologies and AI for Transforming Lives' grant competition.
The proposals of the 17 researchers, who have been given grants, will leverage AI and quantum technologies to address critical challenges for societal impact, such as AI-assisted early cancer detection and quantum components to enable scalable quantum computers. The event marks progress in joint research and development in quantum technologies and AI under the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
The two countries also announced over $1 million in support for a new USISTEF grant for US-India joint research, development, and commercialisation in advanced materials and critical minerals. The grant programme will expand collaboration between US and Indian universities, national laboratories, and private sector researchers.
The US Ambassador said, 'India and the US have a vision of technology that can connect and protect their people and be used as a force for good. The endowment fund is bringing together innovators because, as I often say, the Indian dream is the flip side of the American dream, and vice versa, and we really like each other.'
Dr Center applauded the AI and quantum awardees saying, 'Partnership between the United States and India is key to shaping the future of these and other emerging technologies.'
The USISTEF grant competition complements broader US-India cooperation in AI and quantum under iCET, such as the second meeting of the Quantum Coordination Mechanism in Washington in August, and bilateral research and development cooperation via the US National Science Foundation’s implementation arrangements with India’s Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Since 2009, the Department of State-supported USISTEF has funded US-India joint applied research and development projects for social good through technology commercialisation.
