Research & Discovery

November 12, 2024 | Matt Engelhardt

Quantum UP! Winners Span Universities Throughout the Region

Competition for non-STEM majors awards thousands in prize money.

Quantum UP! winners

Winning teams from the Quantum UP! challenge celebrate their success with UConn President Radenka Maric and other university and corporate leaders.

Quantum technology is poised to transform industries across the globe. On Nov. 1, teams of students from throughout the region demonstrated just how profound the impact will be across a large spectrum.

Quantum UP!, a hackathon designed specifically for students in non-STEM fields, awarded $9,000 in prizes to teams that rose to challenges devised by leading companies. All winning teams presented on their various topics during an event held at UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford.

QuantumCT presented the hackathon, bringing together teams of students representing college and universities across the region. UConn and Yale University are lead partners on QuantumCT, a public-private partnership established to advance Connecticut as the nation’s top accelerator of quantum technology. Partners include government offices and agencies, industrial leaders, communities, and academics.

While quantum technology has strong connotations with fields such as engineering and physics, applications can be transformative across a myriad of other industries and disciplines. Quantum UP! explored those fields, presenting student teams with challenges relating to business, law, healthcare, and more.

Several UConn students were members of the winning teams. Other winners represented Ivy League schools such as Yale and Penn, as well as a strong showing from a team from Southern Connecticut State. Each winning team received prizes of $1,500.

The following are the winners of the categories, as well as the companies that created the respective challenges.

Department of Quantum Resources: Devlin Law Firm
Adam Skarre, UConn Storrs
Joyce Tong, UConn Storrs
Joel Sarpong, UConn Storrs

Quantum Disruption: The Hartford & Capgemini
Tianrui Li, Yale University
Sander Cohen-Jones, Yale University
John-Paul Webster, Yale University
Ukpogu Lucy Damachi, Yale University

Quantum Ethics: King & Spalding
Crossby Dessallines, Southern Connecticut State University
Jose Daniel Mandujano, Southern Connecticut State University

Quantum Lockdown: Travelers
Eva-LaRue Barber, UConn Storrs
River Graniss, UConn Storrs

Quantum Power: Google Quantum | AI
Ngaatendwe Miranda Manyika – University of Pennsylvania
Phil Kazemba – Yale University
Anopamufaro Manyika – UConn Storrs

Quantum Vision: GE HealthCare
Joshua Lee – UConn School of Medicine
Ashley Tucker – UConn School of Medicine
Aaron Kiel – UConn School of Medicine
Jacob Brady – UConn School of Medicine