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New Quantum Engineering Initiative to establish ties between JILA research and Industry Applications

The University has long been a beacon of innovation in cutting edge physics research, and a new Quantum Engineering Initiative (QEI) led by Scott Diddams and Greg Reiker aims to focus on applications of this work.

The Joint Institute of Laboratory Astrophysics, or JILA, a research powerhouse consisting of collaborators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and ��«����Ƶ, has been the primary hub of anything and everything quantum since it was founded 60 years ago. Now, the vision of the Quantum Engineering Initiative is to build off of JILA’s foundation of knowledge to produce technology that can be applied in industry. 

“On campus we have the fundamental state of the art [technology], and we hope to fill this gap, to translate [the research] into something that the industry could use,” said co-founder of the QEI and NIST fellow Scott Diddams. 

Quantum technology finds its way into our everyday lives through extremely precise clocks, integrated photonics in circuitry, lasers, and sensors that go into systems such as GPS navigation. Quantum research provides the chance to increase the capacity of such technology in speed, resilience, and reliability.

However, translating the research of JILA into industry applications is no small feat. JILA researcher Jun Ye currently works on the world's most precise clock, whose ticking is more accurate than anything in the field to the tune of five orders of magnitude. 

Jun Ye’s work is a great example of world class research that needs an engineering approach if it hopes to make it out of the lab.

 “There is a real engineering trade space where we give up a few orders of magnitude. If [work done in JILA] is the pinnacle of perfection, say in clocks, we can give up a little of that and make a very useful device….The bottom line is there’s this middle ground where, if we can give up a little… and make it portable, that’s a massive advantage,” said Diddams.

One of the foundational goals of the QEI is to meet industry where it’s at. On the quantum scale, this looks like making sure that quantum technology components can integrate into systems seamlessly. 

Dr. Diddams elaborates, “the technology that goes into these clocks, they are a new generation of technologies compared to what's in the field, if we’re ever going to get that technology into commercial devices, there needs to be engineering done on that at many different levels. There’s a real opportunity there, and we want to step into that gap and fill that opportunity.”

Another key aspect of the QEI is an emphasis on education. Undergraduate curriculum is ramping up its quantum content, namely with a new Quantum Minor that launched this year. Students can also participate in the Quantum Forge, where external companies support senior design students in their projects. The QEI will also incorporate a discovery laboratory where students can get hands-on experience with the fundamentals of quantum mechanics. 

Associate Professor Greg Reiker explains that the initiative will lean into the cycle of technology in the research world. Cutting edge research takes cutting edge equipment, and why not develop such equipment in house? 

Engineering quantum equipment within the College of Engineering, such as lasers and frequency combs is such a key opportunity to take advantage of the convergence of minds on campus.

“In the past decade or so there’s been a new vision of tools, new ideas, that by manipulating the fundamental quantum properties of materials you can do some really previously unimagined things. [We can] take some of those technologies, refine them, and then feed them back in to make the next experiment that much better,” said Reiker. 

CU has long had a reputation for being a research powerhouse. Through establishing a research lab within the College of Engineering, the QEI will be a launch point for a new era of innovation that prioritizes placing the conclusions of research into the hands of people.