Florida State University (FSU) is increasing its efforts in quantum science and engineering as 2025 marks the “Year of Quantum,” a global recognition of 100 years since the development of modern quantum mechanics. The university’s Quantum Initiative aims to advance research and applications in this field, which could impact areas such as high-performance computing, communications, cybersecurity, medical imaging, and environmental sensing.
FSU has committed significant resources to this initiative. In 2023, President Richard McCullough announced an initial investment exceeding $20 million. Since then, FSU has hired seven new faculty members and 11 postdoctoral fellows and opened a new laboratory space valued at $126 million for quantum research.
“Florida State University is a national leader in quantum research,” said McCullough. “Quantum science and engineering will change the world and transform lives and FSU plans to lead the way.”
Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson emphasized the university’s commitment to becoming a global leader in key research areas by building on its existing strengths: “We are deeply committed to becoming a global leader in key research areas, building on the exceptional foundation laid by our outstanding faculty.”
The Interdisciplinary Research and Commercialization Building (IRCB) will serve as a central hub for researchers from various disciplines working on quantum projects. The IRCB is intended to be a regional focal point for quantum science and engineering, attracting researchers from across the Southeast who may utilize its equipment.
FSU’s research focuses on four main themes: qubit design and measurements, quantum and topological materials, quantum optics and networks, and quantum theory and algorithms. Michael Shatruk, director of FSU Quantum and professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, explained: “We chose to focus on areas where our existing research strengths and the most exciting possibilities of quantum technology intersect.”
A key area of study at FSU involves developing reliable qubits—quantum bits that are essential for practical quantum computing applications such as drug discovery or cryptography. Stephen Hill, professor of physics at FSU and director of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory’s Electron Magnetic Resonance program, leads interdisciplinary work exploring heavy elements like lanthanides as potential solutions for stable qubits.
Hill described the collaborative nature of this work: “None of this would be possible if we didn’t have chemists and physicists working really closely together… so that the chemists understand what it is that we want from the point of view of the quantum physics, and we can start to learn from chemists the kind of magic that they can perform in making elements like praseodymium and lutetium behave in a way that they hadn’t previously ever.”
Research also extends into developing supporting technologies such as cryogenic systems for cooling qubits using superfluid helium—a focus area for Wei Guo at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Guo noted: “Superfluid helium is a crucial tool for managing heat transfer in technologies we rely on for health, power and scientific research… Our work is helping to understand this material and expanding what is possible.”
FSU has attracted external funding through participation in initiatives like Molecules to Quantum Materials (M2QM), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy that brought over $2.5 million to support molecular qubit studies at FSU.
Additionally, two grants totaling $10 million were awarded by the National Science Foundation’s ExpandQISE program to support innovation at the joint FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Another project led by Eugene DePrince received $4.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy aimed at advancing software development for supercomputers used in quantum information science.
“The fact that we are competing for and winning outside support demonstrates the value of our work and the recognition that we are a good investment,” said Shatruk. “This is an exciting time to be researching quantum science and we can’t wait to see what breakthroughs will happen at FSU.”
