Every year, April 14 marks World Quantum Day - a day to recognize the groundbreaking advancements in quantum science and technology that continue to shape our world. This year is also the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), which the United Nations declared to mark a century of progress in quantum science and engineering.
Learn more about some of the latest quantum research and announcements coming from the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and its partners below.
New technique paves way for hybrid quantum networks
Networking quantum computers together to scale up their potential computing power poses a difficult challenge.
While classical computers can simply be connected through a fiber optic network, quantum computers cannot exchange information so easily. That’s because quantum computers that run on superconducting qubits use microwave photons, while networks use optical photons.
The mismatch between the two systems means quantum information can be destroyed or lost in the connection. To solve this, engineers have developed quantum transducers, which convert quantum signals to run between these systems. Still, these transducers can currently only send a fraction of a qubit’s information through.
Prof. Liang Jiang and his postdoctoral associate Zhaoyou Wang at UChicago PME have developed a new scheme to send quantum information through these transducers. Using their technique, they found they could send a full qubit’s information through a channel, paving the way for hybrid quantum networks. The results were published in Physical Review X.
University of Chicago’s Fred Chong awarded $2 million for innovative quantum computing cancer research project
The University of Chicago Department of Computer Science announced that Seymour Goodman Professor Fred Chong and his team have been awarded $2 million by Wellcome Leap to implement Phase 3 of their project, “Quantum Biomarker Algorithms for Multimodal Cancer Data.” This award is part of Wellcome Leap’s Quantum for Bio program, which aims to speed up the use of quantum computing in healthcare and create solutions that address important health challenges.
The main goal of Chong’s project is to use quantum computing to solve a major challenge in cancer research: finding better ways to identify biomarkers—biological indicators that can help diagnose and treat cancer—in complex cancer data. During Phase 1, the team developed a combined quantum-classical algorithm to pinpoint accurate biomarkers in various types of biological data, such as DNA and mRNA. This new method allowed the team to find complex patterns and connections in the data.
“Quantum computing has a lot of potential when we are trying to be precise as possible in drawing conclusions from a small amount of high-value data,“ explained Chong.
Fermilab leads project to develop novel quantum sensor
Researchers at the Fermilab, along with scientists and engineers at the computer chip manufacturer Diraq, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Chicago, and Manchester University, have proposed the development of a quantum sensor made of quantum bits called spin qubits in silicon to probe beyond Standard Model physics. Diraq is a global leader in quantum computing technology on silicon, which is essential to the Quandarum project.
By placing many spin qubits together on a chip to form a sensor, the researchers seek to enable scientists to tease out even the faintest signals from the cosmos. Such a sensor could potentially be used to detect axions, hypothetical particles that some scientists believe comprise dark matter.
Led by Fermilab, the Quandarum project is one of 25 projects funded for a total of $71 million by the DOE program Quantum Information Science Enabled Discovery. The QuantISED program supports innovative research at national laboratories and universities that applies quantum technologies to use for fundamental science discovery.
Quantum Leap: New research reveals secrets of random quantum circuits
Imagine a world where quantum computing pushes the frontiers of progress, from tackling complex problems that would take classical computers trillions of years, to solving new cryptographic challenges.
The University of Chicago Department of Computer Science is at the forefront of turning this promise into a reality. A groundbreaking new study that was presented at this year’s Quantum Information Processing Conference, the most prestigious conference on the theory of quantum computation, delves into the heart of quantum circuits, uncovering secrets about their behavior that could propel us closer to this transformative future.
The quantum internet is in its dial-up era, with even the most powerful quantum computers only able to transmit information at slow rates.
“Right now, the prototype quantum network has a rate that's abysmal, sometimes bits per second – at most 100 bits per second. A real, practical network that can perform real-world applications requires megabits per second,” said UChicago PME Asst. Prof. Tian Zhong. “Our proposal cranks up those numbers, showing that you can reach 10, up to 50 megabits per second.”
A new paper from Zhong’s lab, published in Physical Review Letters, outlines a new plan for entangling light and memory, uniting photons and atoms in a single system to leapfrog quantum information at fast speeds for long distances.
New nanoscale technique unlocks quantum material secrets
Scientists are racing to develop new materials for quantum technologies in computing and sensing for ultraprecise measurements. For these future technologies to transition from the laboratory to real-world applications, a much deeper understanding is needed of the behavior near surfaces, especially those at interfaces between materials.
Scientists at Argonne have unveiled a new technique that could help advance the development of quantum technology. Their innovation, surface-sensitive spintronic terahertz spectroscopy (SSTS), provides an unprecedented look at how quantum materials behave at interfaces.
Entanglement – linking distant particles or groups of particles so that one cannot be described without the other – is at the core of the quantum revolution changing the face of modern technology.
While entanglement has been demonstrated in very small particles, new research from the lab of UChicago PME Prof. Andrew Cleland is thinking big, demonstrating high-fidelity entanglement between two acoustic wave resonators.
From photons to protons: Argonne team makes breakthrough in high-energy particle detection
Particle detectors play a crucial role in our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of the universe. They allow scientists to study the behavior and properties of the particles produced in high-energy collisions. Such particles are boosted to near the speed of light in large accelerators and then smashed into targets or other particles where they are then analyzed with detectors. Traditional detectors, however, lack the needed sensitivity and precision for certain types of research.
Researchers at Argonne have made a significant breakthrough in the field of high-energy particle detection in recent experiments conducted at the Test Beam Facility at Fermilab.
They have found a new use for the superconducting nanowire photon detectors (SNSPDs) already employed for detecting photons, the fundamental particles of light. These incredibly sensitive and precise detectors work by absorbing individual photons. The absorption generates small electrical changes in the superconducting nanowires at very low temperatures, allowing for the detection and measurement of photons. Specialized devices able to detect individual photons are crucial for quantum cryptography (the science of keeping information secret and secure), advanced optical sensing (precision measurement using light) and quantum computing.
The gemstone spinel, known for its vibrant colors resembling gems like rubies and sapphires, has now been shown to be capable of storing quantum information, making it a viable material in the field of quantum technology.
This is the first paper resulting from the Chicago-Tohoku Quantum Alliance. The alliance between UChicago and Tohoku researchers was forged in June 2023 to help build bridges with Japanese companies and establish stronger industry ties with academia and government.
2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology
The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum to mark a century of progress in quantum science and engineering. The University of Chicago and its partners join the celebration of the groundbreaking fields that continue to positively impact lives around the world.
