Chicago's status as a global hub for quantum research just got another vote of confidence from the federal government.
Last week, the National Science Foundation announced the renewal of two Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes anchored in our region – one led by the University of Chicago, the other by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – together bringing $75 million in new five-year funding to advance quantum science and build the workforce to sustain it.
University of Chicago: NSF QuBBE
NSF QuBBE, the Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Quantum Sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering, is led by the University of Chicago in partnership with Chicago State University, the University of Illinois Chicago, Harvard, and other collaborators. First established in 2021, the institute is now moving into a second phase focused on turning quantum sensing from proof-of-concept experiments into reliable tools for studying biology in complex conditions.
"Quantum sensing has reached a point where it can begin to address real biological questions," says Greg Engel, the institute's director and chair of UChicago's Department of Chemistry. Early work under the institute has already produced genetically encodable qubits, nanodiamond sensors capable of tracking cellular activity, and – notably – research showing that fluorescent proteins can function as spin qubits, opening the door to sensors that could one day be expressed directly inside living cells.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: NSF HQAN
NSF HQAN, the Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks, is led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has served since 2020 as the nexus of quantum information science research across the Midwest. Its focus is modular quantum computing: networking smaller quantum processing units together rather than trying to scale a single massive system, an approach most researchers now see as the most realistic path to quantum advantage.
Director Brian DeMarco said that with HQAN’s first-phase underway, “We have set the stage for modular quantum computing, which was largely unexplored when we started but now appears on the quantum roadmaps of major companies.” That progress includes entangled states across a four-node superconducting network, the first reconfigurable superconducting quantum computing modules, and the first neutral atom array modules exceeding 1,000 sites — alongside more than 210 peer-reviewed publications.
What stands out across both renewals is how deeply interconnected the work already is. NSF HQAN's core research cohort includes the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Northwestern University, with Stanford and MIT Lincoln Laboratory contributing additional capabilities.
Its second phase adds 16 industry partners, including Google, IBM, IonQ, and Quantinuum. NSF QuBBE, meanwhile, has helped catalyze new regional infrastructure of its own, including the Berggren Center for Quantum Biology and Medicine at UChicago, which is training physicians and physician-scientists to work at the intersection of quantum science and healthcare.
Both Are Investing in Workforce Development
Both institutes are investing heavily in workforce development, recognizing that quantum's long-term impact depends on people as much as technology. NSF QuBBE is expanding its partnership with Chicago State University, building toward a new quantum master's program and growing its Q-Cert post-baccalaureate certification. Its Quantum Academy, run through UIC, brings hands-on quantum science to Chicago-area high school students and teachers. NSF HQAN has reached more than 12,000 K-12 students through programs like TeachQuantum and Wonders of Quantum Physics, and has already placed institute alumni into industry roles, faculty positions, and national laboratories.
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