U.S. National Science Foundation Announces Transformational Award to Connecticut’s Quantum Tech Sector
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, led by the University of Connecticut in partnership with Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University, Connecticut State Community College, ConnCORP, Connecticut Innovations, and the State of Connecticut, aims to advance American quantum innovation and secure the domestic quantum supply chain by accelerating the commercialization of quantum technologies for national defense, biotechnology, and financial services. Through innovation, applied research leading to new technologies, support for inventors and entrepreneurs, and workforce development, the NSF Quantum Technologies Engine will advance quantum sensing, secured communications, computing, and materials through shared testbed, deep-tech incubator and translation pathways.
“NSF Engines investments in critical technologies and future industries will transform America’s innovation infrastructure for decades to come,” says Brian Stone, 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.”
The NSF Quantum Technologies Engine in Connecticut (the QuantumCT Engine) team will initially receive a two-year, $15 million award. The funds will support the Engine’s technology translation, workforce development, and incubator operations. The funds will also facilitate industry and community engagement to deliver broad societal benefits. By demonstrating sufficient progress, the QuantumCT Engine has the potential to receive $160 million from NSF over the next decade.
The QuantumCT Engine 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.
Quantum technology industries are expected to grow 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 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.
“Connecticut is the nation’s leading state for quantum technology adoption,” says 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.”
“This award application process was highly competitive, and it’s a huge win for Connecticut,” says Gov. Ned Lamont. “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.”
The NSF Engines program invests in regional ecosystems with the potential to drive economic growth through technological innovation. The QuantumCT Engine 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 says. “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. It is crucial that America take the lead in the global quantum race to safeguard national security, secure our digital economy, and drive future economic growth. Furthermore, we must excel internationally in quantum healthcare to deliver life-saving therapeutics and diagnostics. I am grateful to Governor Lamont and Dan O’Keefe, the commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, for their grand vision for our state.”
The State of Connecticut has pledged $121 million to the QuantumCT Engine, comprising $60 million already invested and an additional $60 million upon receiving the NSF award. This state support will build a quantum incubator in New Haven, the Engine’s hub, among other initiatives.
In 2023, NSF awarded the QuantumCT Engine 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. The award recognizes our team’s success in establishing partnerships with industry to accelerate quantum technologies and build a quantum-ready workforce. — Pamir Alpay, UConn provost and principal investigator
Industry partners are key to the QuantumCT Engine’s success. Quantinuum and D-Wave are partnering to develop quantum computing testbeds with QuantumCT 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 Engine team over the past several years on applied research projects that bring quantum capabilities directly to their product lines.
“With this transformative award, NSF has recognized the scale of the QuantumCT Engine’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 says.
“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,” she adds. “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.”
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 — and recently acquired by tech innovator D-Wave with plans to double its workforce in New Haven.
Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) also plays a critical role as the QuantumCT Engine’s workforce lead, with its QNT (CSCU Center for Quantum and Nanotechnology) serving as the optimal coordinator based on its successes in leading educational initiatives and strong alliances with industry, community stakeholders, and IHEs throughout Connecticut.
Through longstanding technical and education collaborations with Yale, UConn, and the CT 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,” says Sandra Bulmer, interim president of the university. “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.”