Grainger Engineers to lead Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, shape the future of quantum computing

Today, The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign joined other partners from around the state in officially announcing its leadership role in the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. The project – a quantum-focused research and development campus in Chicago – will be managed by a University of Illinois-led organization on behalf of the State of Illinois and Governor J.B. Pritzker.

Advances in quantum information science and engineering, together with next generation microelectronics, promise to transform computing, which underpins much of how our modern society operates. Grainger Engineering Associate Dean for Research and Founder Professor Harley Johnson has been tapped as the inaugural director of this massive transformational project seeded by $500 million in state funding, plus significant additional federal and industry support.

“Thanks to the vision of Governor Pritzker and our many partners across the state, the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park is poised to have an enormous impact in Illinois, across the nation, and around the world. We are proud to have been called on to lead the effort, and I’m personally thrilled to have an opportunity to help shape this historic project,” Johnson said. “The potential for our work in the park to change the world is drawing comparisons to historic tech initiatives like the Manhattan Project or the development of Silicon Valley. Due to 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. The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park will propel development of a quantum market that has a predicted worth of $2 trillion in the next decade by closely aligning entrepreneurial activity with research firepower.

“This is a history-making moment for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Grainger Engineering and for the entire State of Illinois,” said Chancellor Robert J. Jones. “We’re grateful to Governor Pritzker for his leadership and vision. And we are honored to be entrusted with the leadership of this revolutionary center for innovation in microelectronics and quantum computing.”

In Illinois, Governor Pritzker has worked to establish the state as the nation’s leader in quantum information science and technology, thus forming a natural partnership with Grainger Engineering and the University of Illinois – which works in this area on a scale few can match.

“This park represents a new step in quantum innovation that Grainger engineers and scientists are perfectly suited to scale up by bringing together key public and private stakeholders from universities and national labs, as well as state and local government,” said Rashid Bashir, dean of The Grainger College of Engineering. “Our approach to interdisciplinary research blends viewpoints from world-renowned faculty and inspirational students, while our entrepreneurial spirit guides a vision for the future that benefits everyone around us.”

The U. of I. is home to half of the state’s quantum faculty, with 65+ scientists, 170+ graduate students, and 40+ postdocs leading $150M+ in cutting-edge quantum research. Grainger Engineering also graduates the fourth-most undergraduate engineering and computer science students in the nation and is poised to supply the U.S. with a significant portion of the highly competent, future quantum workforce.

Additionally, the university regularly partners with the nation’s tech industry and the VC community and is the headquarters of one of four quantum centers established in Illinois under the National Quantum Initiative Act.

“Through Governor Pritzker’s leadership, our state has made rapid and massive new investments in the quantum sector. We at the University of Illinois are grateful for his and our other stakeholders’ trust. We also stand eager and ready to build and implement the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park that will coalesce an extraordinary network of private and public partners, leading the way to a new quantum economy,” said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Susan Martinis.

The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park received a tremendous boost last week with the announcement of the DARPA-Illinois Quantum Proving Ground project. Governor Pritzker announced the new federal- and state-funded effort, which promises to combine scientific rigor with industry and academic expertise to design the future of quantum computing. DARPA and other federal agencies will provide federal funding. Governor Pritzker and the State of Illinois pledged to coinvest up to $140 million in the project, including support for the quantum park.

Also today, quantum computing industry leader PsiQuantum, based in Palo Alto, CA, announced that it will launch construction of the world’s first utility scale fault tolerant quantum computer at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. The massive project, estimated at more than $1 billion, will come to Illinois in part because of the world-class shared cryofacility that will be built at the heart of the park.

Brian DeMarco, Illinois Grainger Engineering professor of Physics and director of the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center, will lead the park’s administration of the DARPA project. Additionally, Laura Appenzeller – executive director at the University of Illinois Research Park and assistant vice chancellor for innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – will serve on the park’s leadership team.

Researchers and industry collaborators, DeMarco believes, will unlock the power of quantum computing to enable new approaches to drug discovery, financial fraud detection, logistics optimization, climate prediction, and more.

“We at Grainger Engineering and the University of Illinois have a history of developing innovation that breaks boundaries. This stems from our commitment to serve the state, the nation, and the world,” DeMarco said. “In much the same way that U.S. development of the Internet led to entirely new industries and markets – fundamentally changing our day-to-day lives – the race to form new achievements in quantum will also have similar implications.”

About The Grainger College of Engineering
The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is one of the world’s top-ranked engineering institutions, and a globally recognized leader in engineering and computer science education, research and public engagement. With a diverse, tight-knit community of faculty, students and alumni, Grainger Engineering sets the standard for excellence, driving innovation in the economy and bringing revolutionary ideas to the world. Through robust research and discovery, our faculty, staff, students and alumni are changing our world and making advances once only dreamed about, including the MRI, LED, ILIAC, Mosaic, YouTube, PayPal, flexible electronics, electric machinery, miniature batteries, imaging the black hole and flight on Mars. The world’s brightest minds from The Grainger College of Engineering tackle today’s toughest challenges. And they are building a better, cooler, safer tomorrow. Visit https://grainger.illinois.edu for more information.