The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) recently announced that Endowed Presidential Professor of Physics, in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, Eden Figueroa will lead its new Quantum Institute.
Eden holds a joint appointment with Brookhaven National Laboratory, and is a recognized national and international leader for his research and entrepreneurship in quantum networking.
“As we set a bold vision for Stony Brook’s future, we will be a leader in solving the most pressing challenges facing humanity,” said President Andrea Goldsmith. “This includes building on our leadership and excellence in groundbreaking research across a number of areas, including quantum communication.”
He was selected as director of the Institute after consultation with a broad cohort of Stony Brook University faculty and leadership. Under Eden’s leadership, the Institute will ensure that Stony Brook University will expand its global leadership in the quantum revolution, continue hiring the best and brightest, and deepen its research collaborations with partners at Brookhaven National Lab, SUNY, and beyond.
“Eden is a highly accomplished scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, a deeply valued colleague, and the kind of visionary who will lead Stony Brook and its partners in achieving our goal of becoming the epicenter of interdisciplinary quantum research,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Carl W. Lejuez. “The Quantum Institute will anchor a global consortium that will spin out high-tech start-ups, fuel industry-sponsored research, and forge deep international partnerships. Under Eden’s leadership, it will ensure that Stony Brook expands its global leadership in the quantum revolution by hiring the best and brightest to Sony Brook and deepening our research collaborations with our partners at Brookhaven National Lab, SUNY, and beyond.”
“With colleagues from around the state and the country, we are making extraordinary progress toward the development of a viable quantum internet,” said Eden Figueroa, director of the Quantum Institute, Stony Brook Presidential Innovation Endowed Professor, and Director of the Center for Distributed Quantum Processing. “The Quantum Institute will boost Stony Brook’s leadership in the Quantum Sciences through additional faculty expertise, expanded research facilities that will make our campus the first quantum-connected university in the U.S., and incredible opportunities for students and postdoctoral scholars to advance the frontiers of knowledge using a quantum lens. I am humbled and honored to be its first director. I look forward to making Stony Brook the home of the U.S. Quantum Internet of Things and to start new areas of quantum research with my esteemed Stony Brook colleagues.”
The Quantum Institute will catalyze and accelerate an investment of $300 million from the New York State and SUNY system. It will also be supported by $13 million announced by Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. Additional support for the Institute will come from university fundraising efforts.
Designed to empower interdisciplinary quantum research across networking, computing, sensing, and simulation, the Quantum Institute will offer competitive fellowships for students, postdoctoral scholars, and visiting faculty.
The Institute will bring together faculty and students from a variety of core disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. It will foster collaborative opportunities that span the university, including the Renaissance School of Medicine and Stony Brook centers and institutes such as the Institute for Advanced Computational Science, the AI Innovation Institute, and the Laufer Center.
Governor Hochul last fall announced the state will make a $300 million investment to establish the Quantum Research and Innovation Hub at Stony Brook. The first-of-its-kind hub will be the state’s premier facility dedicated to leading-edge research and education in quantum science and technology, with a particular focus on quantum communication and networking.
The 150,000-square-foot facility will house the Quantum Institute, the state’s first hybrid Quantum Data Center at a university, and the Stony Brook Quantum Education Consortium, bringing together research, computing, and workforce training to solve society’s most complex challenges and build a faster, smarter, and more secure internet. Already, the investment is supporting the expansion of the quantum internet testbed that originally linked Stony Brook, Brookhaven National Lab and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, to span more than 1,000 miles across New York State.
Additionally, the Institute will be home to a quantum training and workforce center, collaborate with academic units in the creation of new curriculum and degree programs, and house state-of-the-art teaching laboratories. It will become the epicenter of an interdisciplinary quantum research consortium that will spin out high-tech start-up companies, fuel industry-sponsored research, and forge deep international partnerships.
The Institute under Eden’s direction marks the next phase of Stony Brook University’s quantum leadership, which has been a core area of research and investment since 2018, and which the university has been able to expand thanks to significant support and investment from the State University of New York, the SUNY STRIVE initiative, and Governor Kathy Hochul.
