The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today that Connecticut is one of twelve regions selected to receive an NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) award, joining a portfolio of regional technology clusters that are accelerating the development of critical technologies and building a durable U.S. technology advantage.
The NSF Quantum Technologies Engine in Connecticut, also known as the QuantumCT Engine, will initially receive a two-year, $15 million award. A public-private quantum research initiative, QuantumCT is led by the University of Connecticut (UConn) in partnership with Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), ConnCORP, CT Innovations, and the State of Connecticut.
The NSF Engines award will support QuantumCT’s technology translation, workforce development, and incubator operations. The funds will also facilitate industry and community engagement to deliver broad societal benefits, including economic opportunities, workforce training, and innovative technology that advances the nation’s competitiveness, security, and economic growth. By demonstrating sufficient progress, QuantumCT has the potential to receive $160 million from the NSF over the next decade.
QuantumCT will leverage world-leading research and innovation expertise from UConn and Yale to pursue translational research to benefit industry, generate technology ventures, and train the region’s workforce to enter a high-growth field. It will also deliver technology acceleration and startup support services to drive public-private partnerships and create a quantum ecosystem that generates economic growth.
Through innovation, applied research leading to new technologies, support for inventors and entrepreneurs, and workforce development, QuantumCT will advance quantum sensing, secured communications, computing, and materials with a shared testbed, deep-tech incubator, and translation pathways to develop research insights into real-world applications. These efforts aim to advance American quantum innovation by accelerating the commercialization of quantum technologies for national defense, biotechnology, and financial services.
“With this transformative award, NSF has recognized the scale of QuantumCT’s ambition and its potential to accelerate the quantum revolution for our state, region, and the United States as a whole,” Yale University President Maurie McInnis said. “I am so proud of this effort to develop real-world solutions that enrich our communities and of the spirit of collaboration that it represents. Together with our partners at UConn and across the state, we have been able to drive innovation and unleash economic growth, while fulfilling Yale’s vital mission of research and education.”
“The award recognizes QuantumCT’s years of innovative collaboration between institutes of higher education, industry, government, and community partners,” said Michael Crair, Yale’s vice provost for research. “This investment will accelerate the translation of scientific breakthroughs in quantum research into transformative new technologies and jobs, while helping ensure that the economic and societal benefits of quantum innovation are realized here in Connecticut and across the nation,” he added. “Yale is proud to work with UConn and partners across the state in pursuit of these goals.”
Among the newly awarded NSF Engines, QuantumCT is the only one focused specifically on quantum technology.
Quantum technology industries are expected to grow in value to $200 billion by 2040, with the potential to reshape sectors important to Connecticut and the country, including aerospace, defense, drug development, manufacturing, and finance and insurance.
“Connecticut is positioned to lead in the quantum era due to our deep pool of brilliant researchers, our entrepreneurial spirit, and the tight collaboration across the public, private, and non-profit organizations in the state,” said Josh Geballe, senior associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation and managing director of Yale Ventures. “We are excited to support this initiative to accelerate the application of quantum technologies to solving society’s big challenges, while creating jobs and opportunity in Connecticut.”
Connecticut companies that are adopting quantum technologies support over 270,000 jobs, accounting for 38% of wages in the state. They also are responsible for millions of jobs and over $28.7 billion in GDP nationwide.
In 2023, NSF awarded the QuantumCT team a $1 million NSF Engines Development Award through UConn, which established the operational structure and built the partnerships to drive the ecosystem. QuantumCT, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, was founded by UConn and Yale as part of the NSF Engine Development Award to support applied research, help companies explore quantum applications, generate startups, and prepare a skilled workforce.
“Connecticut is the nation’s leading state for quantum technology adoption,” said Pamir Alpay, UConn's provost and the principal investigator on the NSF-funded proposal. “The award recognizes our team's success in establishing partnerships with industry to accelerate quantum technologies and build a quantum-ready workforce.”
Alongside industry partnerships and state support, sustained investments by UConn and Yale have helped build the quantum ecosystem that this award will accelerate.
At Yale, this includes startups such as Quantum Circuits, co-founded by Robert Schoelkopf and Michel Devoret, whose pioneering work in quantum computing earned him the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. Quantum Circuits was recently acquired by tech innovator D-Wave and plans to double its workforce in New Haven.
“Yale faculty have long been pioneers in quantum research, advancing application areas from computing to communication and even navigation,” says Jeffrey Brock, dean of the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. “This partnership helps ensure that their insights move beyond the laboratory to address real-world challenges. By connecting world-class academic expertise with industry and government partners, we can accelerate innovations in fields that are vital to the nation’s future.”
Last month, the Yale-led ERASE project — Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage, which draws on the expertise of NSF’s National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) — was awarded a $4 million NSF grant to support its work to develop an initial blueprint for the hardware and software necessary for its unique approach to quantum computing.
“The complementary strengths of NQVL ERASE and QuantumCT create exciting opportunities to expand access to quantum research, education, and innovation while fostering collaboration across institutions and sectors,” Michael Hatridge, a co-principal investigator for ERASE and an associate professor of applied physics at Yale Engineering, said. “With the help of this transformative award, QuantumCT’s planned convening space and collaborative infrastructure can work in tandem with ERASE’s ‘national virtual laboratory’ to build the local, regional, and nationwide infrastructure needed to translate quantum discoveries into technologies that can deliver real-world innovation and benefits for society.”
“I am thrilled that QuantumCT has won this highly competitive economic engine award to advance the quantum ecosystem in the state of Connecticut,” Steven Girvin, the Sterling Professor of Physics in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, professor of applied physics at Yale Engineering, and member of the Yale Quantum Institute, said. “It will help Connecticut expand its economic strengths in key industry sectors including defense, finance, insurance, and pharmaceutical/biomedicine as we transition into the quantum technology era of the 21st century.”
“Connecticut is widely recognized as a leader in the intellectual development of quantum science and engineering,” Schoelkopf, the Sterling Professor of Applied Physics at Yale Engineering, added. “Over the last two decades, we have developed many of the key concepts and insights that are enabling future quantum technologies and taken the first steps toward translating these to practice and commercialization. With the award of the NSF Engines grant and the investments made by Yale and UConn, we are poised to both continue our scientific leadership and become one of the national centers for economic growth in quantum.”
QuantumCT will be based in New Haven and will draw upon the city’s growing quantum workforce.
“New Haven is excited and proud to serve as the home of QuantumCT’s hub. New Haven has a long tradition of innovation and discovery, and today’s announcement helps position us at the forefront of the next technological revolution that will help provide new job opportunities for our residents, drive new economic growth for our city, and unlock new breakthroughs for our society at large,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker. “New Haven is establishing itself as a regional and national hub for quantum research and innovation, and this award will help accelerate the growth of our quantum ecosystem and strengthen our leadership position in this exciting and rapidly growing field.”
The NSF Engines program invests in regional ecosystems with the potential to drive economic growth through technological innovation. The QuantumCT proposal was chosen for funding from a field of 15 finalists following a highly competitive national selection process.
“As Connecticut’s flagship public university and the state’s land-grant institution, UConn takes pride in its leadership role within the QuantumCT Engine. Our university is home to more than 60 esteemed faculty members who are experts in the field of quantum science and will collaborate with Yale researchers to drive innovative advancements and groundbreaking discoveries in quantum research,” UConn President Radenka Maric said. “Over the past three years, we have been working hand-in-hand with our academic, state, industry, and community partners to position quantum technologies as a catalyst for economic development that will fuel prosperity in our state and nation.”
The State of Connecticut has pledged $121 million to QuantumCT, comprising $60 million already invested and an additional $60 million upon receiving the NSF award. This state support will build the quantum incubator in New Haven, among other initiatives.
“This award application process was highly competitive, and it’s a huge win for Connecticut,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “Our pioneering research and advanced application pipeline helped set us apart from the competition. Whereas other states may be theorizing about quantum, we’re already applying it together with corporate partners across the state. These federal funds, combined with state investment, will accelerate Connecticut’s progress in quantum technology and help establish our state as a national and global leader in this field — and we’re grateful for NSF’s support in getting us here. This investment will help create good jobs and new opportunities for workers across the economy as quantum’s impact grows.”
Industry partners are key to QuantumCT’s success. Quantinuum and D-Wave are partnering with QuantumCT to develop quantum computing testbeds that will be used for experimentation and technology translation activities.
Quantum technology adopters — including RTX, Travelers, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, Amphenol, and Microsoft — have been working with the QuantumCT team over the past several years on applied research projects that bring quantum capabilities directly to their product lines.
SCSU also plays a critical role as QuantumCT’s workforce lead, with its CSCU Center for Quantum and Nanotechnology (QNT) serving as the optimal coordinator based on its successes in leading educational initiatives and strong alliances with industry, community stakeholders, and institutes of higher education throughout Connecticut.
Through longstanding technical and education collaborations with Yale, UConn, and the Connecticut State Community College System, the QNT is a conduit to all academic institutions in the state and to small and medium businesses, including those in advanced manufacturing, biotech, photonics, and other supply chain sectors.
“Southern Connecticut State University is more than ready to take the lead on workforce development in Connecticut’s quantum ecosystem,” Sandra Bulmer, interim president of the university, said. “We are proud to be part of Connecticut’s ‘research triangle,’ along with Yale and UConn, serving as the support for the talent pipeline. Our mission is grounded in access and opportunity, and the workforce piece of this effort enables us to open up new frontiers in research and innovation to countless students across Connecticut.”
“NSF Engines investments in critical technologies and future industries will transform America’s innovation infrastructure for decades to come,” said Brian Stone, who is performing the duties of the NSF director. “The NSF Quantum Technologies Engine will advance the Nation’s quantum innovation by accelerating the commercialization of quantum technologies for national defense, biotechnology and financial services.”
Read UConn’s announcement of this transformative award on UConn Today.