In the News
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Diamonds are a qubit’s best friend — and the Quantum Prairie is building them a supply chain
From the Chicago Quantum Exchange: David Awschalom and Alex High of the University of Chicago discuss how the Chicago Quantum Exchange and The Bloch Tech Hub are helping build one of the nation’s first robust quantum-diamond supply chains. Read More
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Optica names Jelena Vuckovic the 2026 R.W. Wood Prize recipient
From Optica: Optica has selected Jelena Vuckovic, Stanford University, as the 2026 recipient of the R.W. Wood Prize for pioneering contributions to integrated photonics, foundational work in quantum photonics, and the breakthrough development of a practical photonic inverse design. Read More
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Giulia Galli appointed associate editor to Reviews of Modern Physics
From the University of Chicago: Galli, a pioneer in computational physics, is the first woman to lead journal’s flagship Computation Physics "Reviews" section. Read More
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Three Illinois faculty named Sloan Foundation fellows
From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Q-NEXT collaborator Jacob Covey of UIUC is recognized for his work in quantum physics, quantum communications and quantum information by studying atoms with tweezers made of focused laser beams. Read More
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Two UChicago PME researchers earn prestigious Sloan Fellowships
From the University of Chicago: The award recognizes Q-NEXT collaborator Peter Maurer of the University of Chicago for “outstanding promise” at the intersection of quantum engineering and biophotonics, developing new types of quantum sensors to study biological systems. Read More
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Public Quantum Network receives inaugural award from World Quantum Day
From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: The Public Quantum Network is awarded the Continental Quantum City Prize for North & Central America at the closing ceremony of the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Read More
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University of Chicago’s Nadya Mason and Supratik Guha named to DOE Office of Science Advisory Committee
From the University of Chicago: Q-NEXT Chief Technology Officer Supratik Guha have been named to a new unified advisory body that will provide independent advice on complex scientific and technical challenges across the DOE Office of Science. Read More
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Scientists say quantum tech has reached its transistor moment
From Science Daily: Researchers say functional quantum systems now exist, but scaling them into truly powerful machines will require major advances in engineering and manufacturing. By comparing different quantum platforms, the study reveals both impressive progress and steep challenges ahead. Read More
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Tiancheng Song earns DOE Early Career award
Tiancheng Song of the University of Wisconsin–Madison wins a DOE Early Career Research Program award to explore superconductors for next-generation quantum devices. Read More
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7 teams win funding in first year of Scialog: Quantum Matter and Information
UIUC’s Elizabeth Goldschmidt and her team are awarded funding for quantum research in the inaugural year of Scialog: Quantum Matter and Information, an initiative to promote broader interactions among different sectors of the quantum science community. Read More
News and features
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David Awschalom wins global Breakthrough of the Year award
David Awschalom, Q-NEXT Chief Science Officer and the Liew Family Professor of Quantum Engineering and Physics at the University of Chicago, received the prestigious Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year in Physical Sciences for a pioneering body of work that broke the wall between quantum technology, molecules, and proteins. Read More
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Helium lifts new quantum computing concept
A team led by Jacob Covey, who is part of Q-NEXT and is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago, laid out a new concept that could turn helium’s light weight into the next generation of quantum computers. The design relies on helium-3, an isotope with different quantum properties than the helium-4 used to cool MRI machines and fill party balloons. Once built, the computer could use high-powered lasers as “optical tweezers” to capture and control individual atoms of helium. Read More
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Researchers make materials that support quantum technology
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who are part of Q-NEXT are engineering material systems that support quantum technology. Chris Anderson and his team are developing materials for quantum transduction — the conversion of quantum information from one form to another. Elizabeth Goldschmidt, Daniel Shoemaker, and colleagues are developing quantum memory technology that stores quantum information for extended periods of time. Read More
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Q-NEXT-developed open-source software receives 2026 R&D 100 award
SeQUeNCe, a free, open-source software developed by Argonne scientists with Q-NEXT support, is one of seven Argonne projects that received a 2026 R&D 100 Award. The SeQUeNCe software lets researchers test how quantum networks might work before building them. Read More
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Researchers generate spontaneous magnons that synchronize with external signals
Researchers at Argonne and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign demonstrate a method for generating stable ripples in magnetic materials called magnons. The work opens avenues for information processing in microelectronics and quantum devices. Read More