Lockheed Martin and CUbit Quantum Initiative formalize quantum partnership
The University of Colorado Boulder's CUbit Quantum Initiative has announced Lockheed Martin as the latest industry quantum leader to become a CUbit Innovation Partner.
James Thompson
Adam Kaufman
Lockheed Martin joins Atom Computing, ColdQuanta, Maybell Quantum, Meadowlark Optics, Octave Photonics, SPIE and Vescent in participating in CUbit's partnership program.
This new quantum focus in the research alliance between Lockheed Martin and CU Boulder represents the latest extension of this longstanding, wide-ranging relationship, which was expanded when the organizations entered into a Master Research Agreement in 2019.
The quantum partnership builds on foundational quantum sensing research at CU Boulder, which hosts one of the National Quantum Initiative Act’s university quantum centers, Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering, or Q-SEnSE.
For starters, Lockheed Martin is sponsoring two projects led by CU Boulder researchers. One is focused on combining optical tweezers with established capabilities in quantum science and information processing with quantum simulation in Adam Kaufman’s lab. The other project, in James Thompson’s lab, aims to engineer many-body quantum states to enable next-generation interferometers to outperform traditional systems. The CUbit partnership is an important investment in technology areas that will further strategic capabilities for Lockheed Martin.
The CUbit Innovation Partners program is a vital component of CU Boulder’s commitment to cultivate beneficial collaborations with quantum-intensive enterprises. These strategic partnerships are providing real-world opportunities for CU Boulder students, postdocs and researchers, while expanding and accelerating the university’s quantum efforts across the board.
“We’re tremendously excited to welcome Lockheed Martin into our partnership program,” said Philip Makotyn, executive director of the CUbit Quantum Initiative. “Building on our long, mutually-beneficial partnership with Lockheed Martin, this new quantum focus will help both organizations accelerate progress towards our respective quantum aspirations.”
“Lockheed Martin recognizes the value of collaborating across the entire innovation spectrum and our engagement with CUbit Innovation Partners is an important extension of our existing alliance with CU Boulder,” said Valerie Browning, vice president, Research and Technology at Lockheed Martin. “This new quantum focus will provide Lockheed Martin access to cutting-edge quantum sensing research while providing CU Boulder visibility into real world applications that may benefit from a quantum advantage.”
CUbit partnership programs, which will expand through new Innovation Partners and a range of additional partnership opportunities, enhance the university’s productivity and reputation as a national leader in quantum research and education while further cementing Colorado’s Front Range as a global hub of excellence in quantum.
The Front Range is home to quantum research powerhouses such as CU Boulder, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and JILA, a joint institute between CU Boulder and NIST. It also hosts a world-class ecosystem of quantum-technology companies ranging from large entities such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing to a variety of smaller companies and startups. Additionally, the Denver/Boulder area is consistently ranked one of the most entrepreneurial regions in the nation.
91ÖĆƬł§ the CUbit Quantum Initiative
The CUbit Quantum Initiative is an interdisciplinary hub that reinforces Colorado’s prominence in quantum information science and technology, partners with regional universities and laboratories, links closely with quantum-intensive companies, and serves a spectrum of local, regional and national interests, including workforce development. Founded on a local triad of CU Boulder, NIST quantum researchers (as a core component of JILA) and Front Range companies, CUbit is advancing fundamental science and building a strong foundation for novel quantum technologies and their rapid dissemination, application and commercialization.
91ÖĆƬł§ Lockheed Martin
​​Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 114,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. Please follow on Twitter for the latest Lockheed Martin announcements.