Last week’s Quantum Day Symposium at the University of Florida started off with a declaration from the vice president of Research, David Norton, Ph.D.: UF needs to be a leader in quantum research.
“The challenge is to lead. How are we going to be a player? This is important for us and the state,” Norton said in the opening moments of the Dec. 10 symposium.
What followed was a day of lightning presentations and discussions from industry leaders and UF faculty members with strong footholds in quantum work within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering (HWCOE) and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS).
The day also showcased dozens of student and postdoc quantum projects that covered a wide spectrum of innovative quantum projects from UF labs and collaborations.
“The UF Quantum Symposium was a remarkable success, bringing together quantum researchers across colleges at UF and representatives from leading industry players in the field to exchange ideas and showcase UF’s cutting-edge research in quantum areas,” said Philip Feng, Ph.D., Rhines Endowed Professor in Quantum Engineering and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and a Graduate Faculty Professor in the Department of Physics.
Feng organized the symposium and assembled its technical agenda, with support from ECE and HWCOE staff. About 80 people attended the event, including 25 UF faculty members.
“Events like this highlight the University of Florida’s growing capabilities in quantum science and engineering,” Feng said. “They reinforce our commitment to advancing innovations at the state and national levels.”
Quantum physics refers to the behavior of atoms, electrons and photons that power modern devices like transistors (such as those used in smartphones), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), atomic clocks (used in GPS, timing and communication), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, lasers and sensors. As such, the surging demand for a qualified workforce with quantum knowledge and ideas is immediate.
Make no mistake, UF is serious about leading the nation in translatable quantum research and producing leaders in the field, particularly in national security. The day after the symposium, Norton doubled down on the mission during a UF Board of Trustees meeting.
“While it is at present unclear which quantum computer or quantum communication or quantum-sensing technologies will emerge as the commercial winners, it is clear that quantum-based technologies will be a major determinant in national and economic security in the next decade,” Norton told the board. “The state of Florida, and UF in particular, needs to be a major player in making this happen.”
He said the university is already active in national security research, citing, among other projects, the UF Applied Research and National Security lab to be located on the new Jacksonville campus.
“We are aggressively leaning into quantum as a future growth area for the research enterprise at the University of Florida,” he told the board.
The Quantum Day Symposium dug deep into research and emerging concepts.
There were 20 keynote and lightning presentations, including discussions on quantum computing in semiconductors, quantum spintronics for future computing, property-guided generative models for molecules, magnetic molecules as qubits, design automation for quantum computing integrated photonics, cryogenic CMOS, mapping atomic landscapes for quantum innovation and quantum + AI topics.
Many of the speakers were UF faculty members from the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science & Engineering and Computer & Information Science & Engineering. Industry presenters included speakers from leading quantum hardware and software companies such as IonQ and Quantum Machines.