Today, the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, along with other partners across the state, formally announced a lead role in the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a quantum-focused research and development campus in Chicago that will be managed by a University of Illinois-led organization on behalf of the State of Illinois and Governor JB Pritzker.
Harley Johnson
Advances in quantum information science and engineering, coupled with next-generation microelectronics, promise to transform the computing upon which modern society is built. Professor Harley Johnson, Associate Dean for Research and Founding Director of the Grainger School of Engineering, has been appointed inaugural director of this massive transformational project, which is being launched with $500 million in state funding, plus significant support from the federal government and industry.
“Thanks to the vision of Governor Pritzker and our many partners across the state, the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park is poised to have a tremendous impact on Illinois, the United States and the world. We are honored to have been asked to lead this effort and personally thrilled to have the opportunity to help shape this historic project,” said Johnson. “The world-changing potential of our work at the Park has been compared to historic technology initiatives like the Manhattan Project and the development of Silicon Valley. Because of the unique nature of this public-private partnership, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make the world better through advancements in quantum computing and microelectronics.”
Indeed, the impact of quantum innovation and scale-up is predicted to be staggering. By closely aligning entrepreneurial activity and research power, the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park will help advance a quantum market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next decade.
“This is a historic moment for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Grainger Engineering and the entire state of Illinois,” said Chancellor Robert J. Jones. “I thank Governor Pritzker for his leadership and vision and am honored to have been entrusted with the leadership of this revolutionary center for innovation in microelectronics and quantum computing.”
In Illinois, Governor Pritzker has worked hard to establish the state as a national leader in quantum information science and technology, resulting in a natural partnership with Granger Engineering and the University of Illinois, two companies operating at a comparable scale in this field.
Rashid Bashir
“This park represents a new step forward in quantum innovation, and Graanger engineers and scientists are perfectly placed to expand it by bringing together key public and private stakeholders, including universities, national laboratories, and state and local governments,” said Rashid Bashir, dean of the Graanger School of Engineering. “Our approach to interdisciplinary research blends the perspectives of our world-renowned faculty and inspiring students, and our entrepreneurial spirit guides a vision of the future that benefits everyone around us.”
The University of Illinois is home to half of the state’s quantum faculty, with over 65 scientists, 170 graduate students and 40 postdoctoral researchers leading more than $150 million in cutting-edge quantum research, and Grainger Engineering is the fourth-largest producer of engineering and computer science undergraduates in the country, poised to supply the U.S. with a significant percentage of the highly talented quantum workforce of the future.
Additionally, the university regularly partners with the nation’s high-tech and venture capital communities and is the headquarters for one of four quantum centers established in Illinois under the National Quantum Initiative Act.
“Governor Pritzker’s leadership has seen our state make rapid and significant new investments in the quantum field. The University of Illinois is grateful for the Governor and other stakeholders’ confidence and is eager to build and implement the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, which will bring together an extraordinary network of private and public partners and pave the way for the new quantum economy,” said Susan Martinis, vice chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park received a major boost last week with the announcement of the DARPA-Illinois Quantum Proving Ground project. Governor Pritzker announced a new federal and state funded initiative committed to combining scientific rigor with industry and academic expertise to design the future of quantum computing. DARPA and other federal agencies will provide the federal funds. Governor Pritzker and the State of Illinois have committed to co-invest up to $140 million in the project, including their support for the Quantum Park.
Also today, PsiQuantum, a quantum computing industry leader based in Palo Alto, California, announced it will begin construction of the world’s first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. This massive project, estimated to cost more than $1 billion, is coming to Illinois in part because of a world-class shared cryogenics facility that will be built at the heart of the park.
Brian DeMarco
Brian DeMarco, professor of physics at the Illinois Grainger School of Engineering and director of the Illinois Center for Quantum Information Science and Technology, will lead the park’s DARPA project management, and Laura Appenzeller, executive director of the University of Illinois Research Park and vice chancellor for innovation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will join the park’s leadership team.
DeMarco believes that researchers and industry collaborators will unlock the power of quantum computing to enable new approaches to drug discovery, financial fraud detection, logistics optimization, climate forecasting, and more.
“Grainer Engineering and the University of Illinois have a history of developing boundary-pushing innovations that are born from our determination to serve our state, nation and world,” DeMarco said. “In much the same way that the development of the internet in the United States spawned entirely new industries and markets, fundamentally changing our daily lives, the race to create new accomplishments in the quantum field will be similarly meaningful.”
About Grainger Institute of Technology
The Grainger School of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the world’s top engineering educational institutions and a globally recognized leader in engineering and computer science education, research, and public engagement. With a diverse and close-knit community of faculty, students, and alumni, Grainger School of Engineering sets the standard for excellence, drives innovation in the economy, and brings groundbreaking ideas to the world. Through solid research and discovery, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are changing the world, enabling advancements that were once only dreamed of, such as MRI, LEDs, ILIAC, Mosaic, YouTube, PayPal, flexible electronics, electric machines, small batteries, imaging black holes, and flying to Mars. The world’s brightest minds at Grainger School of Engineering are tackling today’s toughest challenges. And they’re building a better, cooler, and safer tomorrow. For more information, visit https://grainger.illinois.edu.
