Pritzker: Northwestern, State of Illinois Seizing Quantum Opportunity

Governor appears at first-ever Northwestern Quantum Week event

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker told hundreds of academic, government (both regional and global), and industry leaders on Friday that Northwestern is central to the state’s push to become a national hub for quantum innovation.

Speaking at a keynote event concluding Northwestern’s inaugural Quantum Week, Pritzker pointed to the University’s research strengths and partnerships as key to Illinois’ broader strategy, which include the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park now under development in Chicago.

“I’m here because Northwestern is an integral part of the nation’s best quantum hub that we’re building here in Illinois,” said Pritzker, a Northwestern alumnus. “Illinois’ world-class academic and research institutions have long been at the center of our vision for a quantum future.”

Quantum technologies, he said, have the potential to drive new industries and accelerate existing ones, from secure communications to advanced materials and biomedical breakthroughs, positioning the state for long-term economic growth.

Northwestern plays a central role in that ecosystem through efforts such as the Institute for Quantum Information Research and Engineering (INQUIRE), which spearheaded the week’s programming in partnership with Illinois Economic Development Corporation, as well as its broader strengths in materials science, engineering, and interdisciplinary research. The governor also noted the state’s overall academic research leadership, as well as national laboratories like Argonne and Fermilab, as key to Illinois’ development as a quantum science hub.

“Our state has been able to go all-in on quantum because the research and innovation ecosystem for it already existed, created and supported by many of the people who are in the room today,” Pritzker said. He said quantum could spark “entire new industries, accelerating the growth of existing ones, [and] creating untold prosperity, if we do it right. And I was not content to sit around and let that opportunity pass us by, with technology this transformative.”

He pointed to applications ranging from “un-hackable cybersecurity” and “biopharmaceutical and genetic cures for intractable diseases” to “near-perfect nano-material design” and microelectronic environmental monitoring tools. That promise, he said, helped drive Illinois’ investments in companies such as IBM, PsiQuantum, and Pasqal, as well as attracting DARPA funding support. Pritzker said the state’s academic, government, business, and community partnerships also helped Illinois secure two of the five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers in 2020. 

While quantum science advances can appear incremental, Pritzker said the field may ultimately prove to be “a 20-year or 50-year overnight success.”

“I know it’s a lot of work,” he said. “You all are ... deep into already developing things that will make an enormous difference to the world, and I can’t wait to see all that comes out of it.”

Near the close of his talk, Pritzker announced the five recipients of the Grand Challenges award program from the National Quantum Information Center at IQMP, including Northwestern Professors Nikos Hardavellas and Roberto dos Reis.

He also drew laughter with a tongue-in-cheek explanation for why he enjoys events with quantum researchers.

“Everywhere else, when I start to talk about the large-scale, fault-tolerant, million-qubit quantum computer that we’re building in Chicago, eyes start to glaze over,” he said. “When I drone on and on about the fact that we’re building the nation’s largest cryo facility to isolate and operate qubits, well, I get uninvited from cocktail parties. So frankly, I feel right at home here at this nerd-fest.”

Interim Northwestern President Henry Bienen, who introduced Pritzker, thanked the governor for his leadership in quantum and research infrastructure, noting that Pritzker is a former Northwestern trustee and friend of the University.

“The partnership between the state and Northwestern has led to mutually beneficial investments; for instance, the $3 million grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to build out wet lab space helped grow our Querrey InQbation Lab, which has launched 24 startups in just three years,” Bienen said. “We greatly appreciate having a governor who believes in science and is working every day, not only to make it easier for companies and industries to stay in Illinois, but also to relocate here.”

Provost-designate Erik Luitjen thanked the attendees and emphasized the importance of commercialization, investment, and industry leadership in advancing quantum technologies.

“It is especially gratifying to see a growing number of Northwestern alumni who are now leading quantum companies or investing in the promise of quantum computing,” he said. He also welcomed representatives from consulates and cultural offices spanning Europe and Asia, calling their presence “a powerful reminder that science knows no borders, and that the quantum empowered future will be built through international collaboration.” Illinois, he added, “is the place to be for quantum innovation,” crediting the governor’s vision.

Luitjen noted that progress in quantum will require integrating a broader range of disciplines at an unprecedented rate, an area where Northwestern is well positioned to lead.

“Northwestern's significant contributions to photonics, nanoscale characterization, materials informatics, and material synthesis have helped us push the boundaries of quantum computing and sensing technologies,” he said. “We've made groundbreaking advances in secure quantum communications, including sources of entangled photons used in encrypted fiber-optic quantum networking. Northwestern is not just envisioning the future of quantum technology; it's actively building it.”

Attendees from a wide range of sectors and geographic locations said they were delighted to join the scientific symposiums and networking events. Among them was computational mathematician Jeffrey Larson of Argonne National Laboratories’ Q-NEXT center, who came to hear Pritzker talk and make connections. “It’s a great chance to learn about Chicago-area quantum work,” he said.

Juliette Peyronnet, U.S. general manager of French superconducting cat qubit manufacturer Alice & Bob, had similar goals. ‘I’m really excited to be able to network with everyone and to also understand better the Chicago ecosystem,” she said.

Ariela Strimling, technical sales manager for New York-based Bluefors, a dilution refrigerator manufacturer with labs in Chicago, agreed that the State of Illinois has made a strong effort “to be ramping up on the quantum computing side. It’s a very exciting time.”

Quantum Design Oxford, historically part of British company Oxford Instruments but sold to U.S.-based Quantum Design in January, has an active customer base for its superconducting magnets and commercialized dilution refrigerators at university campuses all over the Midwest, said Charles Strehlow, technical sales engineer. “We’d really like to expand the industrial users,” he said.

As head of science and technology at the British consulate in Chicago, Kyle Dolan said he was looking to see how the strengths of the Chicago and Midwest quantum ecosystem match up with developments in the United Kingdom. “We’re really excited about the prospects for both research partnerships as well as commercial benefits for our respective economies,” he said.

Pictured above (from left to right):

Left: Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano (AVP for Research), Eric Perreault (VP for Research), Henry Bienen (Interim President and President Emeritus), Gov. JB Pritzker (Illinois State Governor), Michael Wasielewski (INQUIRE Director), Erik Luijten (Provost-Elect).

Right: Victor Kerros (Chief of Staff, Alice and Bob USA), Charlotte Montel (Consul General of France in Chicago), Juliette Peyronnet (US General Manager, Alice & Bob USA), Preeti Chalsani (SVP and Chief Quantum Officer, Illinois Economic Development Corporation), Heejeong Jeong (Head of Quantum Computing at Pasqal US), Valérie Livrelli (Attachée for Science and Technology, Consulate General of France in Chicago).

Photo credit: Eileen Molony Photography.