IonQ, UMD establish National Quantum Lab

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Quantum computing device company IonQ Inc. and the University of Maryland (UMD) Wednesday announced a partnership to create the National Quantum Lab at Maryland (Q-Lab).

The Q-Lab will be the nation’s first user facility that enables the scientific community to pursue world-leading research through hands-on access to a commercial-grade quantum computer. UMD-affiliated students, faculty, researchers, staff and partners across the country will have an unprecedented opportunity to gain experience with IonQ’s industry-leading trapped-ion quantum computer hardware and collaborate with IonQ scientists and engineers.

The Q-Lab will be located in the UMD Discovery District, next to IonQ’s headquarters in College Park. Leaders in science, engineering, and computing will co-locate in the Q-Lab, empowering them to work together to develop novel quantum applications.

The facility will also enable training related to the use of IonQ’s commercial-ready quantum hardware. Future generations of quantum programmers will receive support as they explore projects at the cutting edge of computing, and graduate prepared to address industry challenges.

As part of this new nearly $20 million quantum investment, UMD now has access to IonQ’s quantum hardware, some of the most robust in the market. Recent advances in quantum computing, including IonQ’s recent demonstration of an industry-first, 4×16 multicore quantum architecture–are supporting transformative research across areas including biology, medicine, climate science and materials development.

The Q-Lab is expected to significantly democratize access to this innovative technology, generate new intellectual property and attract global scientific and engineering talent to the area. Building on the resources, programming and partnering opportunities provided through UMD’s Quantum Startup Foundry and the Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance, the Q-Lab offers another incentive for entrepreneurs and startups to bring their businesses to College Park and further galvanize the area’s robust private sector ecosystem.

UMD has long been a global center of excellence in quantum computing and housed one of the laboratories out of which IonQ emerged. This first-of-its-kind Q-Lab builds upon the university’s $300 million investment in quantum science and more than 30-year track record of driving advances in quantum physics and technology. The university is home to more than 200 quantum-focused researchers and seven centers, including the newly announced Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation, a multi-institutional effort supported by a $25 million award from the National Science Foundation.