U of Maryland Partnering with IonQ & Opening a Quantum Computing Lab on College Park Campus

(BaltimoreSun) The University of Maryland is partnering with a leading quantum computing developer to build a national lab on the College Park campus in hopes of becoming a center for research and innovations in the field.
University leaders are announcing Wednesday/today an approximately $20 million partnership with IonQ, a developer of quantum computing technology and devices. The partnership will create a national quantum lab on campus, named the Q-Lab, where students, faculty and researchers can access a commercial-grade quantum computer and collaborate on developing new applications.
University of Maryland officials have worked for years to cultivate the institution’s reputation as a leader in quantum technology research, having housed one of the laboratories from which IonQ was hatched. The university is currently home to seven quantum-focused centers and more than 200 researchers.
The Q-Lab will be located in the university’s Discovery District, next to IonQ’s College Park headquarters. Other universities — and countries — have courted IonQ for access to the technology. The company’s leadership ultimately settled on partnering with the University of Maryland, which Chapman said has been at the “vanguard of this field since quantum computing was in its infancy.”
“No other university in the United States is able to provide students and researchers this level of hands-on contact with commercial-grade quantum computing technology and insights from experts working in this emerging field,” said University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines in a statement. “We could not be more proud of IonQ’s success and we are excited to establish this strategic partnership, further solidifying UMD and the surrounding region as the Quantum Capital of the world.”