UChicago Leads 2 of 5 National Quantum Centers

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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Now we know why the Department of Energy came to UChicago last month to announce its national quantum initiative. Argonne and Fermi, both managed by UChicago, are 2 of the 5 National Quantum Information Science Research Centers. Each will get $115 over the next 5 years. ($230 million total.) So, yes, we shall see a new Molecular Engineering Building on campus and a lot of new faculty (probably with joint appointments)…

UChi press release…

Chicago area’s growing quantum ecosystem to host two of five centers to boost discovery

The U.S. Department of Energy is establishing five new National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, including a center led by Argonne National Laboratory and a center led by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which are each projected to receive $115 million in funding over the next five years. Both laboratories are affiliated with the University of Chicago.

The centers, which the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced on Aug. 26, are intended to foster transformational breakthroughs in quantum information science and related technology—bringing together world-leading experts and top-tier facilities in support of the National Quantum Initiative.

The Q-NEXT center, led by Argonne, brings together national laboratories, universities including the University of Chicago, and leading U.S. technology companies with the single goal of developing the science and technology to control and distribute quantum information. With 22 partners, it will create two national foundries for quantum materials, develop networks of sensors and secure communications systems, establish simulation and network testbeds, and train a next-generation, quantum-ready workforce to ensure U.S. scientific and economic leadership in this rapidly advancing field.

The Fermilab-led center, called the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center or SQMS, aims to build and deploy a beyond-state-of-the-art quantum computer based on superconducting technologies. The center also will develop new quantum sensors, which could lead to the discovery of the nature of dark matter and other elusive subatomic particles. The center will include 20 partners, including national labs, universities and industry.

“The Department of Energy is proud to be in partnership with a significant breadth of participants to support Quantum Information Science Centers around the country, and by allocating generous contributions from these participants we can continue to further scientific discovery through quantum technologies,” said Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar. “Our nation continues to lead in the development of industries of the future, and these five centers will marshal the full strength of our national laboratories, universities, and our public and private sector partnerships.”

The University of Chicago manages Argonne for the Department of Energy through UChicago Argonne, LLC; and Fermilab together with the Universities Research Association, Inc. through the Fermi Research Alliance.

A quantum race is underway as multiple nations compete to produce breakthroughs. The Chicago area has emerged as a leading hub of quantum research—home to two national laboratories, the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, and other world-class academic institutions, and a number of industry leaders.

Scientists from Argonne and the University of Chicago achieved a major breakthrough in February when they successfully entangled photons across a 52-mile “quantum loop” in the Chicago suburbs, establishing one of the longest land-based quantum networks in the nation. That network will soon be connected to Fermilab, establishing a three-node, 80-mile test bed. In July, the Department of Energy came to the University of Chicago to unveil a blueprint for quantum research in the next decades.

“This is one of the most exciting developments for the economic vitality and prestige of our state. I could not be more delighted that Illinois will be home to not one, but two of the five quantum research centers in the U.S.— opening the newest chapter in the storied history of scientific and technological innovation in the state of Illinois,” said Governor J.B. Pritzker. “Our outstanding ecosystem of world-class academic institutions, national labs, Fortune 500 companies and tech startups has changed the world before, and it is poised to do so again. With our state’s investment in science and technology alongside the university and the Department of Energy, we lay the groundwork for scientific achievements that will shape Illinois, the nation—and the globe—for decades to come.”

"True breakthroughs in an area as challenging as quantum networking can only come from a powerful network itself—of partnerships and collaborations among colleges and universities, national labs, incubators and industry—and there is no better place in the nation than right here in Chicago,” said Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “This impressive network is possible thanks to the creativity, strength and resolve of our residents, so many of whom make it their mission to use their expertise to improve communities both within Chicago and beyond. These scientific innovations of tomorrow are built on the investments of today, and with these two centers, Chicago is poised to lay a foundation of knowledge and technology for the future.”

“Illinois has been a longtime leader in understanding the science and developing the technology to move our country forward. With Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago and Fermilab behind them, I know our researchers will bring us significant breakthroughs in quantum technology,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). “The Department of Energy made an excellent choice in supporting and basing two of its quantum centers in Illinois and partnering with some of the best universities in the nation to begin the next generation of quantum innovation.”

“Chicago is home to some of the largest collaborative teams working on quantum science in the world, and this is a major step forward for developing critical new applications that will have significant impact in the future,” said Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago. “These centers will help to build a foundation of knowledge, to speed discovery, and particularly at the University of Chicago, to educate a workforce of quantum engineers for the future.”

–It’s a long press release. More on the University News site.

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The Illinois General Assembly also directed $200 million to be split equally between the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois to develop quantum infrastructure for the Chicago Quantum Exchange.

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So the 5 are Oak Ridge, Lawrence Berkeley, Fermi Lab, Argonne and Brookhaven

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So $100 million from Illinois and $230 million from DOE. Not bad. Hyde Park Herald had a good article:

A University of Chicago scientist says investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars from the school, state and federal government could transform Chicagoland and Hyde Park into a global node of quantum research, an emerging, highly applicable field in communications and scientific measurements.

“The State of Illinois is investing significant resources to built the research facilities in Hyde Park to help drive this initiative and where this research will take place,” said David Awschalom, director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange, in an interview.

Awschalom, who also is a senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and U. of C. professor, noted that quantum engineering is still in its infancy and that the U. of C. — known for its prowess in hard sciences and, for years, its lack of an engineering school — had chosen to invest in the new field “to change the way people are trained and educated, in parallel with the birth of a technology.”

Instead of information conveyed through something like computer binary, which uses a series of zeroes and ones, quantum engineering looks at electrons, constantly in flux, either in a location or not.

“At a level of one electron,” Awschalom explained, “an electron has a quantum-mechanical property where it’s not either zero or one — it can be in an infinite combination of zero and one at the same time, which seems a little odd, but it’s true.”

Quantum bits, therefore, can contain vast amounts of information; in aggregate, they can contain “literally astronomical amounts of information,” Awschalom said. Observing the quantum states changes them, creating a useful application for communications, as people cannot read information, put it back and send it back. “You can imagine how this will affect our personal security and financial transactions, electronic voting,” Awschalom said.

Because quantum properties are incredibly sensitive to environments, they function as exquisite sensors — at a one-atom scale — to electric and magnetic fields and temperatures. Awschalom said there are applications in astrophysics, planetary science, seismic detection and medical technologies like MRI scans.

The new facility in the neighborhood will allow work between the U. of C. and nearby community colleges as well as with the suburban national laboratories and industrial partners.

“It’s a whole new field. We’re going to need tens and tens of thousands of quantum engineers. Where will they come from?” he asked, noting that existing technology companies are on a retirement wave and concerned about workforce development.

On Aug. 26, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that Illinois will host two of five new National Quantum Information Science Research Centers led by Argonne and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in affiliation with the U. of C.

Each will receive $115 million in federal funding, after the state funded the Quantum Exchange, a hub for academic and industrial researchers at the U. of C.'s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (named for the governor’s family’s foundation after a substantial donation), with $200 million.

In a statement, the governor called the developments “the newest chapter in the storied history of scientific and technological innovation in the State of Illinois.”

“This is one of the most exciting developments for the economic vitality and prestige of our state," he said. “Our outstanding ecosystem of world-class academic institutions, national labs, Fortune 500 companies and tech startups has changed the world before, and it is poised to do so again. With our state’s investment in science and technology alongside the university and the Department of Energy, we lay the groundwork for scientific achievements that will shape Illinois, the nation—and the globe—for decades to come.”

Because the field is so new Awschalom said building it to scale is beyond the capacity of one group alone and requires the expertise of computer scientists, materials scientists and others.

“You need to build the type of center that brings in companies, national labs and universities all together focusing on this problem,” he said. "Argonne and Fermilab … are the stewards of the most state-of-the-art tools to explore matter at the atomic scale.

“There’s a cyclotron at Argonne. There’s a supercomputer at Argonne that models materials. Fermilab builds some of the best materials in the world. So the question is whether you can pivot these resources to accelerate a new field like quantum technology. And that’s what these centers are doing.”

The Quantum Exchange facility in Hyde Park will bring together will bring together more than 100 researchers, from the national labs, the U. of C. and the University of Illinois, with companies that can take the science to prototypes to technology. Students will research in its laboratories, and companies will come here to hire them.

It is yet unclear where in Hyde Park the Quantum Exchange will be built or when. He did say that the building will cost more than the state’s $200 million investment, that the U. of C. will cover the balance, and that he is happy it is being built near students.

The Pritzker School, founded in 2011 as the Institute of Molecular Engineering, is the newest component of the U. of C. “The University of Chicago had an interesting advantage with no engineering school: they had a blank slate, and it enabled them to do something very different,” Awschalom said. He said the center will bring whoever is needed to solve the problems of the emerging field.

To the concerns of the neighborhood, he stressed that the new center will bring jobs: “People get fantastic educations from the University of Chicago or the University of Illinois, and then they’re ghosts. We don’t want that. You’d like to build a strong economic presence in Hyde Park and in Chicago, and this is an opportunity to do this.”

In a statement, state Sen. Robert Peters (D-13th) said the grants could make develop the quantum research industry in Illinois akin to Silicon Valley in California, which developed around similar investment between universities, governments and private business in the San Francisco Bay Area after World War II.

“These grants are going to put the University of Chicago and the state of Illinois at the forefront of quantum sciences and research,” he said. “As we move further into the 21st century, and technology and science continue to advance, I’m excited our friends and neighbors are the ones leading the way.”

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Good article, and elucidates my point on UChicago Engineering that I have been pointing out on this forum for years. Posters say you can’t go to UChicago for engineering, but they forget the word civil (or any traditional engineering) before the word engineering.