Expanded Chicago Quantum Summit underscores role of collaboration, coordinated action

About 950 people from around the world gathered in downtown Chicago and online last week for a Chicago Quantum Summit marked by a defining message: the future of quantum technology will be shaped not by a single sector, company, or country but through coordinated action and sustained collaboration.

Over two days, quantum computing competitors discussed how their platforms could work together to advance the entire field, leaders from multiple countries discussed immigration pathways with legal experts, and banking and quantum technology leaders explored how quantum innovations might shape financial systems. 

Over breaks and in the hallways, startup founders and early-career researchers mingled with government officials, university leaders, and CEOs. Attendees from across the US and at least 15 countries, including Australia, Japan, the UK, and Canada shared ideas and compared notes. The governor of Illinois and the US deputy secretary of commerce, speaking just hours apart, described a common vision of quantum leadership driven by coordinated public investment and private innovation.

And, as the Summit’s second day opened, the US Department of Energy’s under secretary for science announced  $625 million in funding for the five DOE National Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research Centers, renewing one of the foundational federal programs for quantum research in the US and emphasizing the role that partnerships play in the centers’ work. 

“The goals we have set will not be realized by any single lab or single investigator or even a single company,” the DOE’s Darío Gil said as he announced the renewal, which included two centers in the CQE region: Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center, led by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Q-NEXT, led by Argonne National Laboratory. “Though efforts from individual research groups are vitally important and will always have a central role to play in the DOE mission and QIS program, building a new capability for science requires partnering across fields, institutions, and sectors.”

Collaboration has always been integral to the Summit’s mission. But with quantum technologies moving rapidly from research to real-world application, gatherings dedicated to fostering cooperation around the full spectrum of ecosystem needs have taken on added importance, participants and organizers said. 

“The cooperative spirit and shared purpose shaping the future of this transformative sector were on full display at the 2025 Chicago Quantum Summit,” said David Awschalom, the director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange, the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering and Physics at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, and a senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. “The enthusiasm for this mission was evident in the conversations that happened in packed hallways, in the depth of discussion that unfolded during sessions, and in the breadth of engagement we saw from nearly every part of the ecosystem. This dedication is the key to fueling our sector’s advance and turning discovery into real-world application.”

The Summit hosted the 12 winners of the 2025 Boeing Quantum Creators Prize, rising stars in quantum technology research and development. Over 75 undergraduates, graduates, and postdoctoral researchers also presented their work in the Summit’s annual poster session, which was part of a reception presented by the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago. Five of the presenters were recognized with awards. 

The Summit also capped a year of high-profile regional developments that underscored the Midwest’s growing strength in critical quantum infrastructure. Cryogenic leader Bluefors brought its lab service to the US for the first time with two Chicago facilities; incubator Hyde Park Labs opened on Chicago’s South Side; and industry, academic, and government leaders broke ground at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. A week after the Summit, the University of Chicago announced a groundbreaking initiative with global computing company IonQ, which is poised to join the CQE as its third core partner. Jordan Shapiro, president and general manager of quantum networking, sensing and security at IonQ, was part of a Summit panel on Connecting Quantum Domains for Scale.

“This is the eighth year of this Summit, and at each one, we felt a milestone change in what’s happening in the field,” said University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos said as he opened the Summit. “And with each one of those milestone changes, the ecosystem here has become deeper, broader, and more interconnected.”

From “if quantum” to “when quantum” 

The discussions throughout the Summit underscored a clear shift in mindset: the question is no longer if quantum technologies will reshape industries, but when and how that transformation will unfold. Across research, industry, and education, participants spoke about preparing systems, policies, and people for the moment when quantum capabilities become woven into everyday technological infrastructure.

“There's still the glass-half-empty, half-full perspectives, but it is no longer a question of ‘if quantum.’ It has become a question of ‘when quantum’,” said Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum. “That is a very important transition for this technology base to hit.”

Cathy Foley, former chief scientist of Australia, noted that quantum is no longer “just a scientific field.”

 “It's an industry with a pipeline, standards, and global supply chains forming before our eyes,” she said. “We see integration with semiconductors, photonics, AI, and supercomputing. We see interdependence as none of us can build the entire stack alone.”

During a panel on quantum sensing, Supratik Guha, a professor in the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, joked that “if we had a panel like this ten years ago, there would most likely have been three physicists—and if they were feeling kind that day, maybe a chemist.” 

Instead, the panel he was moderating included one physicist, an electrical engineer, and a product development leader with a business background. 

The move toward commercialization was also clear during a panel on the quantum supply chain.

“Our customers are changing,” said Scott Yano, chief technical officer at Lake Shore Cryotronics, noting that instead of cryogenic experimental physicists and their graduate students the company now works with engineers and their technicians. 

 “It feels like the world is moving faster than it ever has,” he said, “and we need to keep up.”

Law, immigration, and ethics

Acknowledging a growing need for discussions about the legal frameworks governing the sector’s growth, this year the Summit included a focus on law and ethics.

Early in the Summit, the CQE released the Quantum Law Navigator, a two-part, 10-chapter report designed to reduce friction for companies and policymakers trying to navigate a fast-moving technical and legal landscape.

“The Quantum Law Navigator will help innovators turn complexity into opportunity and strengthen the foundation of a growing quantum economy,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said. “This effort underscores the kind of leadership that keeps Illinois at the center of global innovation.”

The Navigator highlighted four core challenges at the intersection of law and quantum technology: safeguarding national security, securing adequate and sustaining funding for quantum innovation, developing the quantum workforce, and addressing quantum supply chain vulnerabilities. The questions that arise from these challenges—sometimes all at once—were at the heart of a discussion on Legal Frameworks for Quantum Growth. 

During that panel, Hannah Parnes, head of policy at quantum computing company EeroQ, highlighted the complexity with an anecdote about how legal issues can often overlap when dealing with quantum technologies.

“I sent a summary of a legal issue I was seeing to an outside law firm to ask for their help,” Parnes said. “He replied, ‘Is this from a law school exam? Is there a trick? Why is every issue in this one question?’ So it can get quite, quite complicated.”

On a panel on Global Talent for the Quantum Future, Stephanie Ashmore, director of the UK government’s Science and Technology Network (STN) for the Americas, Emily Easton, CQE’s director of education and workforce development, and Jonathan Grode, US practice director and managing partner at Green and Spiegel discussed the impact of immigration law on quantum workforce development. Nearly half of the PhD and master’s degree recipients in US STEM programs are international, making residency and visa issues—including recent sudden and unclear changes to US immigration policy—front-of-mind for those developing the quantum workforce.

“Approval rates for national interest waivers for people with PhDs went from about 98% to the mid-50s in less than a year, so it’s been dramatic,” said Grode, citing an immigration pathway for those with expertise deemed to be in the national interest. “But for those that are the best of the best, the researchers, the scientists, there are still very clear pathways, like the J1 visa. It just takes a bit more pragmatism.” (See Chapter 7 of the CQE’s Quantum Law Navigator for more detail).

The Quantum Prairie

Some speakers highlighted the growth of the Midwest quantum ecosystem, including Pritzker.

“There's really an extraordinary transformation happening here in the heart of America, one that will shape the future of computing, the future of communication and scientific discovery for generations to come,” he said. “It's the result of deliberate choices, of strategic investments and of a unique convergence of resources. It's not just about proximity, of course, it's about intentional cooperation… We're talking about an entire industrial ecosystem emerging around quantum technology.”

The regional ecosystem was further discussed in a fireside chat between Harley Johnson, CEO of the IQMP and a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Preeti Chalsani, SVP and chief quantum officer at the Illinois Economic Development Corporation. They emphasized the unique partnership opportunities available in their state.

“Illinois is really the ideal place to do this. We have a really diverse industry base,” Chalsani said, highlighting automotive, manufacturing, chemicals, life sciences, aerospace, and high tech as some of those prominent sectors. “When you’re think about an emerging industry, where you’re still exploring applications, where best to do it than where we have access to customers across all these industries?”