News and Stories

Quantum light sources often produce inconsistent or contaminated single photons, limiting the reliability of quantum technologies. This simple, scalable approach enables more precise, reliable photon sources essential for secure quantum communication and ultra-precise sensing.

NVIDIA code could help researchers tackle computationally demanding tasks hindering quantum research

For the first time, scientists at Northwestern University, Boston University (BU) and University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have built a tiny photonic quantum system into a traditional electronic chip.

The field of quantum information science (QIS) relies heavily on physics—and many think about it in those terms—but materials science and chemistry are also critical to the success of quantum technologies like computing, sensing and communications, according to Mark Hersam, PhD, chair of the materials science and engineering department and director of the materials research center at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering.

One program, Quantum Sensing Summer Program with NSF QuBBE, offers Chicago high schoolers two weeks of lab immersion.

Just when scientists thought they knew everything about crystals, a Northwestern University and University of Wisconsin-Madison collaboration has uncovered a hidden secret.

Northwestern University chemist James Gaynor has been named a 2025 Beckman Young Instigator by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Established in 1991, the Beckman Young Investigator Program supports the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences. It is particularly designed to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials to open new avenues of scientific research. Each awardee receives $600,000 in funding across four years.

The US Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center is betting on ultrahigh-quality-factor superconducting cavity technologies in its quest to develop scalable “qudit-based” quantum computing and communication architectures.

A research paper that demonstrated how quantum communications can be implemented using conventional fiber optic infrastructure--which went “viral” in both the mainstream and scientific news media last December--has led to a bevy of speaking engagements in India this year for co-author Prem Kumar, PhD, director of Northwestern’s Center for Photonic Communication and Computing and a professor of electrical and computer engineering.

While entangled photons hold incredible promise for quantum computing and communications, they have a major inherent disadvantage. After one use, they simply disappear. But in a new study published in Physical Review Letters, Northwestern physicists propose a strategy to maintain communications in a constantly changing, unpredictable quantum network. By rebuilding these disappearing connections, the researchers found the network eventually settles into a stable — albeit different — state.

Advance opens door for secure quantum applications without specialized infrastructure. Northwestern University engineers are the first to successfully demonstrate quantum teleportation over a fiber optic cable already carrying Internet traffic.

Northwestern Engineering researchers are collaborating to harness the extraordinary phenomena that underlie the origin and structure of the universe. At first glance, quantum mechanics might seem strange or even impossible. That’s because our everyday experiences of the laws of physics are very different from how matter and energy behave at the atomic and subatomic level.

Quantum information science (QIS) opens the door to revolutionize the way we process, store, and transmit information. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science plays a key role in QIS research & development (R&D). The Office of Science has provided sustained support for the development of QIS, leading to groundbreaking scientific discoveries and significant advances in our understanding of the natural world.

Seventh annual event breaks in-person attendance records, features discussions about commercialization, workforce building, and the need for continued investment.