History
The Quantum Center at UTC
In 2022, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga launched an initiative to establish a quantum information science and engineering (QISE) program of excellence with a strong focus on education and workforce development, and on use cases of QISE in urban systems and energy systems. This includes innovations in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, mobility and transportation, safe and resilient energy supply; and related applications.
In 2023, when UTC connected to the EPB Quantum Network via a node within a quantum technology laboratory on campus, it became the first American university to host a permanent connection to a commercially available quantum network.
EPB is Chattanooga’s city-owned electric utility and communications company, and Qubitekk Inc. is a supplier of products for generating, preparing, distributing, detecting, correlating and storing photonic qubits. The two companies developed the fiber optic network with quantum devices to generate, distribute, preserve and measure photonic quantum states between nodes on the network, a proving ground for new quantum solutions.
UTC entered into a 10-year partnership agreement with EPB in 2023. The initiative led to establishing the UTC Quantum Center with equipment to advance distributed quantum sensing, access to quantum computing cloud environments; integration of experiential learning in QISE, and to work with Chattanooga-area agencies to develop quantum talent and workforce including with outreach to underserved and rural communities.
The UTC Quantum Center has activities in four main areas that are managed to ensure that the enterprise is well-connected in the community and sustainable:
- Infrastructure
- Education
- Use-case driven research and development (R&D)
- Business Development