Northwest Quantum Nexus Coalition Welcomes the University of Oregon

April 13, 2022 — The Northwest Quantum Nexus (NQN), a regional coalition of academic, government and industry partners working to advance quantum information sciences (QIS), welcomes the University of Oregon (UO) to its network.

“The exciting research happening at the Oregon Center for Optical Molecular & Quantum Science complements the strengths of other NQN partners,” said Nathan Baker, a PNNL computational scientist and one of the founding organizers of NQN. “This is just the kind of synergy we are seeking as we grow and develop QIS in the Pacific Northwest.”

NQN collaborators share the goal of bringing quantum computing to bear on complex computing challenges that are beyond the capabilities of even the most powerful existing computing resources.

NQN partners are co-developing hardware and software that operate quantum computing devices, evaluating new quantum-enabled materials, and creating the curricula that will prepare tomorrow’s students to work in the growing QIS economy. NQN sponsors workshops, symposia and seminar series to bring together the brightest minds in QIS for intellectual exchange.

“The Oregon Center for Optical Molecular & Quantum Science, known for its research on optics, spectroscopy, and quantum science, is a natural addition to the Northwest Quantum Nexus,” said Cass Moseley, interim vice president for research and innovation at the University of Oregon. “Not only does the Center do field-advancing research, but it also includes students in all steps of the process. Quantum Information Science is a burgeoning field, and joining NQN further enables the UO to contribute to the growing QIS workforce.”

The University of Oregon joins the University of Washington (UW), Washington State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and industry leaders Microsoft and IonQ in the commitment to continue building out a regional hub for QIS economic and workforce development.

“The University of Oregon has pioneered QIS education, in particular in the area of quantum optics,” said Kai-Mei Fu, an associate professor of physics and electrical and computer engineering at UW. She co-directs UW’s quantum workforce development program and holds a joint appointment at PNNL.  “Working together with our Oregon colleagues will accelerate the NQN’s workforce development goals.”

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The Northwest Quantum Nexus is a coalition of research and industrial organizations in the Pacific Northwest and neighboring regions with the goal of advancing QIS research and developing a QIS-trained workforce. A core focus of NQN is scalable quantum computing for clean energy, with principal research directions in applications for quantum chemistry, quantum computing, quantum algorithms and materials for QIS.