{"id":243358,"date":"2026-04-06T11:19:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=243358"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:57:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:57:29","slug":"uconns-quantum-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/04\/uconns-quantum-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn\u2019s Quantum Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the state awaits word on a transformative grant, UConn continues to prioritize quantum research and technology\u00a0through a series of events held\u00a0in\u00a0March and April.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s Technology Commercialization Services\u00a0(TCS)<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0is hosting the\u00a0<\/span>second annual QuantumUP!<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>hackathon\u00a0on Wednesday, April 8.\u00a0The\u00a0program\u00a0seeks\u00a0to\u00a0engage UConn students and peers across the state in conversations about how advancements in technology are poised to transform Connecticut\u2019s economy.\u00a0It encourages participation from students majoring in non-STEM fields.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hackathon
Students in non-STEM majors will compete in the QuantumUP! event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hackathon will be held at the UConn Graduate Business Learning Center, 100 Constitution Plaza, in Hartford, beginning at 11 a.m. It will be co-hosted by\u00a0<\/span>QuantumCT<\/span><\/b><\/a>,\u00a0a public-private partnership\u00a0established\u00a0to advance Connecticut as the nation\u2019s top accelerator of quantum technology. Partners include government offices and agencies, industrial leaders, communities, and academics.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Abhijit Banerjee,\u00a0UConn associate vice president for research,\u00a0innovation and entrepreneurship,\u00a0says\u00a0the hackathon\u00a0will seize upon the\u00a0concept of quantum adoption to accelerate advantage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur first QuantumUP! proved that quantum technology is not just for engineers and physicists,\u201d says Banerjee. \u201cWe are excited to see what this year\u2019s competition will bring. Our goal is to create an environment where students from diverse academic backgrounds can collaborate, innovate, and compete for prizes while gaining exposure to this rapidly evolving field.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sponsors for this year\u2019s QuantumUP! include national law firms and industry partners who will be providing real-world challenges for the teams of students. Areas will include business applications, policy, legal and intellectual property considerations, ethical and social implications of quantum technologies, and quantum adoption strategies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Quantum Technology Seminar<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the hackathon, UConn recently hosted a Quantum Technology Seminar, held at the Tech Park Wednesday, March 11.\u00a0<\/span>The College of Engineering<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0organized the seminar, which\u00a0focused on translating quantum technology\u00a0into\u00a0real research and technology opportunities across different industries.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The event was an international affair, with experts coming from throughout the U.S. and Europe, including the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences and Germany\u2019s University of G\u00f6ttingen.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt our recent Quantum Technologies Seminar, we convened leading researchers, industry partners, and students to examine how breakthroughs in quantum science are rapidly evolving into practical technologies,\u201d says\u00a0JC Zhao, dean of UConn\u2019s College of Engineering. \u201cThese conversations are critical\u2014not only for advancing discovery, but for preparing engineers to lead in a field that will redefine computing, communication, and security. UConn Engineering is proud to be at the forefront of this work, fostering collaboration across disciplines and accelerating innovation and impact from the lab.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Zhao emphasized that UConn Engineering continues to build strong momentum in quantum computing, with growing research\u00a0expertise, cross-campus partnerships, and industry engagement, positioning the college as a key contributor to the university\u2019s broader quantum initiatives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s Quantum Capital<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both the seminar and the hackathon exemplify UConn\u2019s investment into quantum technology as a potential gamechanger for the state. UConn and Yale are co-leaders on the historic\u00a0QuantumCT\u00a0proposal, with partners throughout Connecticut\u2019s governmental and industrial\u00a0sectors.\u00a0The proposal seeks to\u00a0establish\u00a0the state as the nation\u2019s quantum technology accelerator, drawing on the research strengths of the two universities as well as the infrastructure and educated workforce necessary to succeed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The QuantumCT proposal\u00a0is a finalist<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0for a National Science Foundation\u00a0(NSF)\u00a0Regional\u00a0Innovations\u00a0Engines grant, with an award of up to $160 million. The NSF has yet to announce the grant recipients. A delegation made a site visit to Connecticut in December, meeting with\u00a0leaders from both major research universities along with\u00a0state officials.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConnecticut has one of the nation\u2019s strongest concentrations of early adopters of quantum technologies, positioning the state as a leader in this emerging field,\u201d\u00a0UConn interim Provost Pamir Alpay said prior to the site visit. \u201cBy working closely with industry partners, we are advancing near-term applications that will lay the foundation for a quantum-enabled future.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The State\u00a0is\u00a0also investing in quantum<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0critical to economic and technological development,\u00a0with $61 million already promised.\u00a0That includes $10 million to fund QuantumCT,\u00a0the nonprofit entity\u00a0established\u00a0to carry out the mission\u00a0to proliferate quantum research and innovation.\u00a0If the NSF awards the proposal, Connecticut has also\u00a0pledged an\u00a0additional\u00a0$60 million in funding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a decision looms, UConn\u2019s quantum research and innovation has proliferated. The\u00a0Quantum Alliance\u00a0includes faculty from multiple schools and colleges.\u00a0Areas of concentration include computing and cybersecurity, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, aerospace and defense, fintech, and energy security.\u00a0More than 90 faculty members university-wide are\u00a0members of the Alliance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hackathon, Tech seminar highlight University\u2019s quantum efforts as school year draws to a close<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":243359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,1731,2673,2076,2364,2235,2227],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2381],"class_list":["post-243358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-entrepreneurship","category-quantum","category-research","category-technology-commercialization","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-edu-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 15:44:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243358"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243402,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243358\/revisions\/243402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/243359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243358"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=243358"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=243358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}