The University of Chicago will partner with global quantum company IonQ on a groundbreaking initiative that will advance research and discovery in quantum science and engineering, helping develop technologies with the potential to improve lives—from powerful quantum computers and ultra-secure quantum communication networks to industry-defining quantum applications and record-breaking quantum sensors.
The collaboration with IonQ further establishes UChicago as a global leader in quantum science and engineering—and Chicago and Illinois as a growing hub for cutting-edge quantum research and industry. The initiative will support faculty, postdoctoral and student researchers in fundamental quantum science at the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) and establish a sponsored research program between UChicago and IonQ. The partnership includes the construction of a world-class science and engineering building at UChicago that will house UChicago PME and other University science and technology research areas. In recognition of the agreement, the building planned at 56th Street and Ellis Avenue will be named the IonQ Center for Engineering and Science.
“At the University of Chicago, our leadership in quantum science is built on groundbreaking research and powerful collaborations,” said President Paul Alivisatos. “This new partnership with IonQ reflects our conviction that foundational discovery and industry can advance the field together. With this support, our faculty and students will be able to reach further—to test bold ideas, accelerate new scientific discoveries and innovation, and help shape the future of the strongest quantum technology ecosystem in the world, right here in Chicago.”
The partnership between IonQ and UChicago will bring together two global leaders in quantum science and translational practice. IonQ is known for advancing trapped ion quantum technologies with leading performance, for its work in entanglement-based quantum networking, which has the potential to amplify other quantum technologies by connecting quantum devices with ultra-secure links, and for its record-breaking quantum clocks and quantum inertial sensors.
UChicago brings together one of the largest groups of quantum scientists and engineers in the world, offers one of the nation’s first Ph.D. programs in quantum science and engineering, and houses the Chicago Quantum Institute at UChicago PME. It is also home to the Chicago Quantum Exchange and its large network of academic, government and industrial partners.
“This collaboration recognizes both the transformative potential of quantum science and engineering and the University of Chicago’s investments and leadership in this area,” said Nadya Mason, dean of UChicago PME and interim vice president for Science, Innovation and Partnerships at UChicago. “Our partnership with IonQ will accelerate quantum discovery and translation, advancing technologies that power a more secure, sustainable and connected world while creating new opportunities for the next generation of researchers.”
The initiative will contribute to partnerships from across the city, the Midwest and beyond. IonQ is poised to join CQE as its third core partner, alongside Boeing and IBM. As part of the arrangement, CQE will expand the fiber quantum testbed that connects UChicago, CQE, and Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Chicago’s western suburbs—which at 124 miles is already one of the nation’s longest quantum networks. Applications of utility-scale quantum networks include unbreakable encryption, distributed quantum computing and ultra-precise, connected quantum sensing.
The initiative also could seed more than 140 research and technology development projects based at UChicago and extend them to national laboratories, other universities and industry partners. The installation of IonQ’s production-grade trapped ion quantum technology could pave the way toward novel uses of quantum simulators and computers, ranging from the simulation of new quantum materials with entangled atomic states to calculating the reaction rates for large molecules—computations that are difficult to impossible today through classical techniques. Connecting quantum computers to quantum networks could create an interconnected quantum ecosystem and powerful new research tool, with potential benefits to human health, energy technologies and the environment.
A growing quantum ecosystem
Quantum engineering has been a core area of research for UChicago PME since its inception. Earlier this year, Nature ranked UChicago first among U.S. universities in quantum research, in recognition of UChicago PME’s leadership in quantum engineering as well as the University’s Physical Sciences Division’s deep-rooted excellence in fundamental quantum science.
This initiative further strengthens a growing quantum ecosystem in Illinois, which in addition to UChicago PME and the CQE, includes UChicago-affiliated Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and leading quantum-focused companies and entrepreneurs. In September, leaders broke ground on the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, which will be a first-of-its-kind facility built for quantum technology scale-up and microelectronics research and development.
“This landmark agreement with the University of Chicago will fuel IonQ’s innovation engine, marking the first time IonQ’s production-grade quantum computing system and entanglement distribution quantum network will be hosted directly on a university campus,” said Niccolo de Masi, chairman and CEO of IonQ. “We’re combining our commercial-grade quantum computing systems with some of the world’s leading academic talent to generate innovations with valuable real-world applications. That research will directly benefit IonQ’s product roadmap and strengthen our competitive advantage in enterprise and government markets.”
“IonQ and the University of Chicago are bringing the world’s top minds in quantum technology together to innovate on cutting-edge applications and propel Chicago’s local quantum ecosystem, with roots at the IonQ Center for Engineering and Science on campus,” said Jordan Shapiro, president and general manager of Quantum Networking, Sensing and Security at IonQ. “Our delivery of a quantum network and quantum computer in tandem enables us to explore the intersection of a wide array of quantum devices, and we are excited at the prospect of collaborating broadly on that mission as a core partner of the Chicago Quantum Exchange.”
Graduate student Zixi Li, working in the lab of UChicago PME Prof. Alex High, is developing scalable hardware for quantum networking.
(Photo by John Zich)
The partnership comes at a critical time. Quantum science and technology have the potential to bolster economic and national security and help address some of society’s most complex challenges, revolutionizing how we fight disease, detect fraud, secure personal health and financial information, optimize our energy grid and more. But deeper collaborations across academia, industry and government are needed to advance innovation today, as they did in the past half-century when investment and partnership enabled breakthroughs in computing, biotechnology, and the development of the internet.
“Partnerships between industry and academia are crucial to the development of world-changing technology,” said David Awschalom, the Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering at UChicago PME, professor in the Department of Physics, and director of the CQE. “Deep collaboration is the foundation of innovation because it brings the strengths of each sector together to transform breakthrough discoveries into real-world applications and creates valuable connections between students and companies that are a crucial part of scaling the quantum workforce.”
