Middle Tennessee State University has welcomed its first group of graduate students into a new program designed to prepare workers for the growing fields of quantum science and artificial intelligence.
The program, led through MTSU’s Quantum Research Interdisciplinary Science and Education Center, or QRISE, was made possible by a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
Eight graduate students make up the first cohort of the NSF National Research Traineeship program for the 2026-27 academic year. Over the next five years, the program will provide training in quantum computing and AI while giving students opportunities for research, professional development and industry experience.
Students in the program receive $16,000 in tuition assistance, professional development opportunities and a $37,000 stipend for eligible students.
“If we want to build a sustainable quantum ecosystem in Tennessee, we also have to build the people who will power it,” said Hanna Terletska, an MTSU physics professor and director of QRISE.
The first cohort includes Tomy Chet, a data science major from Murfreesboro; Laurel Koenig, a computational and data science major from Hampton; Patrick Wong, a computational science major from Lakeland; Danlei Zhu, a computational and data science major from China; Robert Dohner, a computational and data science major from Clarksville; Gavin Liles, a computer science major from Nashville; Dongyu Liu, a computational and data science major from China; and Hannah Osborne, a mathematics major from Chapel Hill.
The students will receive mentorship from MTSU faculty members Terletska, computer science professor Joshua Phillips, assistant computer science professor Kritagya Upadhyay and assistant mathematics professor Donglin Forrest Wang.
The program is designed to allow students to focus more fully on their research while also gaining professional experience.
For Wong, that research involves working with Terletska to study the behavior of materials needed for new technology through quantum simulations.
“We’re finishing our research so I can graduate on time and contribute to the quantum and theorized program,” Wong said.
Koenig has spent two years working with Phillips to plan her dissertation. Her research uses quantum machine learning to study data from large machines and predict when equipment may need maintenance.
“Preventive maintenance is scheduled,” Koenig said. “Predictive maintenance is trying to catch when something is going to fail so that you can fix it, essentially right before it fails, to get as much useful life as you possibly can.”
The program also gives students opportunities to connect their academic research with work being done outside the university.
Terletska said a student could begin with research at MTSU, continue that work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and then work with an industry partner to explore how the technology could be used in real-world applications.
As quantum computing continues to develop, students involved in the program see growing opportunities in the field.
“In my head, quantum is really like the next space race, right?” Liles said. “As someone who cares about my community, about this country, how can we best prepare our country for this next space race?”
Wandi Ding, principal investigator for the grant and associate director of education for MTSU’s QRISE Center, worked on the proposal with co-principal investigators Abdul Khaliq, Jing Kong, Phillips and Terletska, along with senior personnel Upadhyay and Wang.
Ding said the team was excited when the National Science Foundation selected its proposal.
“We thought, ‘Our dream just came true.’ I’m very thankful,” Ding said.
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