ROME, N.Y. — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) on Monday said he supported SUNY’s planned bid to be named one of several new National Centers of Quantum Science Research and Education.
The centers are the result of the recently-passed National Quantum Initiative Act, Schumer’s office said in a Monday news release.
In his remarks at the Griffiss Institute in Rome, Schumer detailed the “many” investments in research capabilities in the Mohawk Valley that “all enhance New York’s competitiveness to capture emerging opportunities” in quantum information science (QIS).
He specifically noted SUNY Polytechnic Institute and the Quantum Computing Center of Excellence at the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (Rome Lab).
Schumer said SUNY’s future proposal has an existing QIS ecosystem, educational partnership with Rome Lab’s Quantum Computing Center of Excellence, and many other partners.
The combination of existing institutional knowledge and “extensive” partnerships will “undoubtedly” help the region and state capture “emerging opportunities” as the federal government develops its national master plan, including the new National Centers of Quantum Science Research and Education, the senator contends.
SUNY’s research campuses at Binghamton University, University at Buffalo, University at Albany, Stony Brook University, and SUNY Polytechnic Institute are currently conducting “transformational” research in quantum science and engineering. Collectively, they are working to create a “quantum-smart ecosystem that will fuel the scientific breakthroughs and develop a workforce of tomorrow,” Schumer said.
Schumer said the “most critical part of this ecosystem” is in the Mohawk Valley with SUNY Poly’s partnership with the Quantum Computing Center of Excellence at Rome Lab.
The partnership allows the organizations to exchange talent, cross-access research and development facilities, and develop a “quantum-smart” workforce in upstate New York, he added.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com