Boeing Announces $3.5 Million Dollar Investment to Expand Chicago Quantum Exchange Partnership

Matt Swayne

November 1, 2023

Policy & National

Insider Brief

The Boeing Company announced an expanded partnership with the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE).
The company has pledged over $3.5 million to bolster early-career scientists and initiate quantum research.
Boeing has been an important player in quantum research and a CQE partner since 2019.

The Boeing Company announced an expanded partnership with the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), earmarking over $3.5 million to bolster early-career scientists and initiate quantum research, according to a story on CQE’s website. This move strengthens the burgeoning quantum ecosystem in the region, aligning with efforts to develop advanced quantum sensors and networks.

As a key player in quantum information science and engineering (QISE) research and a CQE partner since 2019, Boeing’s latest investment underpins various initiatives, according to the story. These include technical workshops, support for new research projects, funding for graduate and postdoctoral fellows, and an award honoring early-career researchers for innovative contributions to the field. This funding also reaffirms Boeing’s ongoing corporate partnership with the CQE.

This collaboration capitalizes on the regional strengths in quantum science, focusing on expanding research and workforce development programs. It aims to engage a diverse audience, both regionally and globally. The synergy between Boeing, the CQE, and its member institutions—including Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago —highlights the Midwest as a growing hub in the quantum field. The area boasts a 124-mile quantum network testbed, significant backing from the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, and the nation’s first quantum startup accelerator.

Jay Lowell, Quantum Portfolio Manager for Boeing, emphasized Boeing’s dedication to nurturing future quantum experts in sensing and networking technologies. Juan de Pablo of the University of Chicago hailed Boeing’s involvement as crucial to the region’s leadership in quantum science and engineering.

A key component of the initiative is the Quantum Creators Prize, established in 2021 to foster diversity and recognize pioneering early-career researchers in quantum science. Supported by Boeing, the prize has celebrated 27 doctoral students and postdocs, integrating a symposium into the annual Chicago Quantum Summit for wider exposure to industry, academic, and government leaders.

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Topics

Argonne National Laboratory Chicago, Boeing, Chicago, Chicago Quantum Exchange, quantum ecosystem

Matt Swayne

With a several-decades long background in journalism and communications, Matt Swayne has worked as a science communicator for an R1 university for more than 12 years, specializing in translating high tech and deep tech for the general audience. He has served as a writer, editor and analyst at The Quantum Insider since its inception. In addition to his service as a science communicator, Matt also develops courses to improve the media and communications skills of scientists and has taught courses. matt@thequantuminsider.com

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MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE

Argonne National Laboratory

Group & CenterUnited States · 1001-5000 FTEs

Argonne National Laboratory, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratories for science and engineering research, employs 3,400 employees, including 1,400 scientists and engineers, three-quarters of whom hold doctoral degrees. Argonne's annual operating budget of around $1 billion supports upwards of 200 research projects. Since 1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations. The Lab has successfully launched its own Quantum Foundry to accelerate quantum information research.

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Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

GovernmentUnited States · 1001-5000 FTEs

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Fermilab's QICK box, an integrated system for quantum control, simplifies and enhances quantum research by consolidating hardware like FPGA boards, amplifiers, and filters into a compact, modular package. Building on the original Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit, the QICK box improves signal-to-noise ratios and qubit control, offering scalability and adaptability for evolving experiments. Developed with collaborators like Yale and the University of Chicago, it has become a widely adopted tool with over 350 users, aiding scientists in advancing quantum information science.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

UniversityUnited States · 10001+ FTEs

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, located in Champaign and Urbana, Illinois, United States, is a public land-grant research university. Established in 1867, it serves as the flagship university of the University of Illinois system.

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Northwestern University

UniversityUnited States · 5001-10000 FTEs

Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois, is a private research university. It was founded in 1851 to cater to the former Northwest Territory and holds the distinction of being the oldest chartered university in Illinois. The university's primary campus is situated by the shores of Lake Michigan in the Chicago metropolitan region.

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University of Chicago

UniversityUnited States · 10001+ FTEs

The University of Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA, is a private research university with its primary campus situated in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

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