Roberts Impact Lab at PNW included in major U.S. EDA award to Bloch Tech Hub to advance quantum technology
The Bloch Quantum Tech Hub, a Midwest-based coalition led by the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), announced on July 20 that it won more than $30 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to build a domestic quantum supply chain for the nation. The award that positions the Illinois-Wisconsin-Indiana region as the center of U.S. quantum manufacturing.
The Roberts Impact Lab at Purdue University Northwest (PNW) in Hammond, Indiana, is one of several facilities noted in the CQE’s announcement as helping to drive the projected billions of dollars in economic impact.
“This investment represents a major vote of confidence in Northwest Indiana’s ability to help move quantum technology out of the laboratory and into real-world commercial and industrial applications,” said PNW Chancellor Kenneth C. Holford.
Through the Bloch Tech Hub, Purdue Northwest will establish a quantum sensing testbed at the Roberts Impact Lab where researchers, entrepreneurs and industry partners can develop, validate and demonstrate next-generation sensing technologies. The testbed will be designed, installed and operated by a PNW team led by the Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), including CIVS Director Chenn Zhou, the NIPSCO Distinguished Professor of Engineering Simulation at PNW, and CIVS collaborator Jun Chen, professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue West Lafayette.
This investment represents a major vote of confidence in Northwest Indiana’s ability to help move quantum technology out of the laboratory and into real-world commercial and industrial applications.
PNW Chancellor Kenneth C. Holford
Quantum sensors have the potential to provide extraordinary precision in detecting and measuring physical conditions, creating important new capabilities for advanced manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, defense and other critical industries.
“What makes this project particularly significant is its focus on commercialization,” said Matthew Wells, chief engagement officer at PNW and president and CEO of One Region. “The testbed will connect PNW’s applied research, engineering and advanced manufacturing expertise with the broader Chicago Quantum Exchange ecosystem, giving companies a place to prove new technologies, evaluate practical use cases, and accelerate their path toward deployment.
“The Roberts Impact Lab was conceived as a bridge between scientific discovery and economic impact,” Wells added. “This award brings that vision closer to reality and establishes Hammond and Northwest Indiana as an important part of one of the nation’s leading quantum innovation regions.”
PNW’s research capabilities also were cited by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun as an important part of building Indiana’s strength in technologies of the future.
“Indiana intends to lead in the technologies of the future, including quantum computing, and this investment is an important step toward that goal,” Braun said in the Bloch Tech Hub’s announcement. “We are building on Purdue Northwest’s research capabilities and our state’s advanced manufacturing strength, strengthening America’s domestic technology supply chain, and helping to ensure the next generation of critical technology is developed and built here at home.”