In the News
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A new future in quantum computing
From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: The Grainger College of Engineering announces that it will have leadership roles in two massive new quantum computing initiatives: the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, seeded by $500 million in state funding, and the DARPA Quantum Proving Ground, supported by federal funding and the state’s co-investment of up to $140 million. Read More
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Building the quantum economy - Chicago style
From HPCWire: HPCwire talks with Q-NEXT Director David Awschalom about the evolution of the quantum information technology market, the prospects for quantum computing sensing and communication, the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, current messaging on a quantum future, quantum startups, and the quantum workforce. Read More
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So you want to build a quantum computer?
From Nextgov/FCW: For all the hype, funding and policy around quantum computing, there is still a lot of basic scientific research to be done to bring a quantum information system to life. Leading researchers at Argonne National Laboratory and Q-NEXT spoke with Nextgov/FCW about the integrative work that bridges the gap between theory and practice, with applications and scalability a distant but feasible goal. Read More
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Giulia Galli wins Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize in Theoretical Chemistry
From the University of Chicago Giulia Galli has been named the 2024-2025 Joseph O. Hirschfelder Awardee. The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Theoretical Chemistry Institute awards the yearly prize for exceptional work in the field of theoretical chemistry. Four Nobel Prize recipients are among the Hirschfelder Prize honorees. Read More
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Durbin, Daines introduce bipartisan legislation to fund the future of quantum research at DOE
From the office of Senator Dick Durbin: U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) on Aug. 1 introduced legislation to advance the United States’ capacity to invest in quantum information science and research and development through the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE Quantum Leadership Act of 2024 would reinvigorate R&D projects at DOE by authorizing $2.5 billion in funding over the next five years — well above the $625 million for DOE-related programs laid out in the now expired National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018. The DOE Quantum Leadership Act would also provide DOE the authority to expand its current quantum R&D initiatives. Read More
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Samir Mayekar and Nadya Mason: The quantum revolution is coming to Illinois
From The Chicago Tribune: Following last week's announcement from the state of Illinois on the creation of the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park in South Chicago, Q-NEXT collaborator Nadya Mason and Samir Mayekar, both of the University of Chicago, detail how Illinois is spurring the quantum revolution in this op-ed. Subscription required. Read More
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Combining trapped atoms and photonics for new quantum devices
From the University of Chicago: Researchers have discovered how to combine two powerful technologies — trapped atom arrays and photonic devices — to yield advanced systems for quantum computing, simulation and networking. The new combination will allow the construction of large quantum systems which can be easily scaled up, by leveraging photonics to interconnect individual atom arrays. Read More
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Illinois lands federal partnership to further develop quantum projects
From the Chicago Sun-Times: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, will take residency on Illinois' soon-to-be constructed quantum campus to establish a program where quantum computing prototypes will be tested to bolster national security. Read More
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U.S. Defense Department, State of Illinois announce multimillion-dollar quantum testing program
From the Chicago Quantum Exchange: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announces that the U.S. Department of Defense will invest up to $140 million to develop a national proving ground for quantum technologies in the Chicago region. Read More
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Advancing quantum research – DOE inks MOU with Department of Defense
From the Department of Energy: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announce a memorandum of understanding to coordinate efforts to move the needle on quantum computing. The MOU establishes a framework for planning and coordinating future research, development, engineering, and test and evaluation activities related to quantum computing. Read More
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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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Silicon Chip Offers New Way to Probe Quantum Materials in Strong Magnetic Fields
Scientists have created a silicon chip that can detect the electrical behavior of very small materials by using very high-frequency waves. The chip is made only from silicon and other non-superconducting materials and still performs very well when cooled from room temperature down to about 4 Kelvin. Read More
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Making quantum bits ready to use again much sooner
Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Intel have found that a simple electrical pulse can quickly push a quantum dot qubit out of a latched state and return it to its starting condition with very high reliability. 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
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Uncovering the hidden disorder in silicon quantum computers
From the U.S. Department of Energy: Q-NEXT researchers map the variation in materials to the atom level to scale up silicon qubits Read More
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Color centers in high-purity diamond
Researchers mapped how electron irradiation makes defects inside diamond, finding that creating more vacancies does not always produce more NV centers. Too many vacancies can form unwanted defects. This result can inform advances in quantum sensing. Read More
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Containing multitudes: SLAC scientist collaborates to create scalable qubits
At SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Q-NEXT collaborator Shannon Harvey develops quantum dots — a mass-producible type of qubit. Driven by curiosity about nature and how things work, Harvey draws on her facility for working at the nanoscale. Read More