Purdue Northwest developing quantum commercialization center
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Purdue University Northwest is getting into the quantum research realm by joining the Chicago region’s Bloch Tech Hub, which was recently named an official U.S. Regional Innovation and Technology Hub for quantum technologies by the Biden-Harris administration.
As part of the move, the university is working to establish a quantum commercialization center within the Roberts Impact Lab, a regional technology transfer and commercialization hub under development in downtown Hammond.
Purdue Northwest Chief Engagement Officer Matt Wells says while specific details are still being worked out, the center will have a large focus on workforce development in the quantum sector.
“[We’ll be] anticipating what the workforce needs will be in this nascent, but rapidly growing sector and using the expertise and the resources of the university to try to cater some of our programming towards those those needs,” Wells said.
The Bloch Tech Hub is a coalition of industry, academic, government and not-for-profit partners led by the Chicago Quantum Exchange, which Wells said has been in talks with the university for several months.
“With the development of the Impact Lab, which has been several years in the making on our end…there was a really natural synergy with this emerging industry cluster that the Purdue system and many of our partner institutions in Chicago have invested considerable resources in to try to bring some of that here to northwest Indiana,” he said.
The Roberts Impact Lab is being developed at a former medical office building at 5454 Hohman Avenue in downtown Hammond. Wells said it is intended to be a one-stop shop for innovators and entrepreneurs in the region.
The quantum commercialization center inside the lab will have a particular focus on quantum research.
“We will have opportunities for researchers and entrepreneurs to work on tech that they might not otherwise have access to on their own,” he said. “Quantum information science and engineering equipment is very expensive. If I’m a startup in this space, it’s pretty capital intensive to try to get going in some of these frontiers. So having some of that equipment housed in the laboratory…will be a resource for those folks that are working to commercialize new hardware in the quantum arena.”
Purdue Northwest recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Hammond and local group Quantum Corridor Inc. to establish a shared vision for the Impact Lab.
Quantum Corridor is developing what it calls the most secure fiber optic network in the Western Hemisphere.
“Quantum Corridor will provide access for entrepreneurs and existing businesses to leading-edge quantum research and faculty and student expertise to develop and bring new ventures and jobs to the regional market,” Niaz Latif, executive director of the Roberts Impact Lab, said in written remarks. “By aligning with Quantum Corridor and engaging other strategic partners, we aim to achieve a cutting-edge hub for quantum technology transfer and commercialization that will drive regional economic development.”
Wells said the university has a purchase agreement for the building that will become the Roberts Impact Lab. While a specific timeline is not yet known, he said the hope is to cut the ribbon on the lab by this time next year.
The lab, according to the university, will be the centerpiece of a new, $40 million downtown innovation district, with support from Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott.
“Downtown Hammond is in the middle of a massive transformation, with the expansion of the South Shore Line offering easy access to Chicago, and multiple active projects that are positioning the city as a magnet for new investment,” the mayor said. “The impact lab will be a powerful draw for additional new development and talent attraction.”