workforce development
-
University of Illinois Chicago students write the book on automating diamond membrane creation for quantum devices
The Break Through Tech Chicago initiative enables six UIC students to develop a process that will accelerate the creation of quantum materials at Q-NEXT. Read More
-
Q&A with the 2023 Open Quantum Initiative fellows
Eight Open Quantum Initiative undergraduate fellows recently completed quantum research experiences that contributed to Q-NEXT R&D. In this Q&A, they share what they did this summer. Read More
-
Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris administration announces 31 regional tech hubs to spur American innovation, strengthen manufacturing and create good-paying jobs in Every Region of the Country
From the White House: President Biden and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announce the designation of 31 communities across the country as Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs (Tech Hubs) through the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. The 31 Tech Hubs focus on developing and growing innovative industries, including quantum computing. One of the tech hubs is the Bloch Tech Hub, led by the Chicago Quantum Exchange. Read More
-
IQUIST Scholars: their experiences and how you can become one too
From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: The Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center announces the second year of the IQUIST Postdoctoral Scholar Program. The program gives selected scholars a chance to work with mentors to home in on research areas of high interest to them. Q-NEXT collaborator Jacob Covey, the program’s chair, said, “This program was created to attract talented candidates who may not have otherwise come to the University of Illinois.” Read More
-
Quantum information science and engineering opportunities for undergraduate students: My experience as an OQI fellow
From Medium: Open Quantum Initiative undergraduate fellow Ariadna Fernandez writes about her summer experience at the University of Chicago, where she used both a classical-quantum algorithm and a quantum computer simulator to calculate molecular system energies. Read More
-
How the five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers harness the quantum revolution
While having their own unique areas of expertise and resources, the U.S. DOE National Quantum Information Science Research Centers are all aligned to the same mission — the advancement of quantum information science. Read More
-
UChicago launches online certificate course in quantum science, networking and communications
From Quantum Insider: In fall 2022, the University of Chicago will launch a seven-week certificate in quantum science, networking and communications, an online course designed to enlist early-career computer scientists, engineers, and other tech workers in the quantum field. Read More
-
Undergraduate fellowship works to diversify quantum science
From Diverse: Issues In Higher Education: A summer undergraduate fellowship has launched to support emerging scientists and engineers of historically underrepresented backgrounds who are eager to dive into a burgeoning field: quantum information science and engineering. Through a 10-week residential research program called the Open Quantum Initiative Undergraduate Fellowship, a dozen undergraduates from colleges and universities across the country will expand their understanding of quantum science and connect with leaders in academia and industry. Read More
-
Undergrads begin summer quantum research with support from Moore Foundation, Chicago region universities, national labs
From Bioengineering.org: More than a dozen college students from underrepresented backgrounds will spend the summer conducting quantum information science and engineering research in labs across the Midwest thanks to the Open Quantum Initiative Undergraduate Fellowship, a new program that seeks to make the burgeoning quantum workforce a more diverse and inclusive community from the start. Read More
-
Undergrads begin summer quantum research with support from Moore Foundation, Chicago region universities, national labs
From the Chicago Quantum Exchange: More than a dozen college students from underrepresented backgrounds will be spending the summer conducting quantum information science and engineering research in labs across the Midwest thanks to the Open Quantum Initiative Undergraduate Fellowship, a new program that seeks to make the burgeoning quantum workforce a more diverse and inclusive community from the start. Read More
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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