As EPB activates America’s first commercial quantum network this summer in Chattanooga, more than three dozen academic, business and political leaders gathered Tuesday at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to explore ways to grow the new quantum technologies in Chattanooga.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, who serves on the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband, has introduced two bipartisan bills this year to promote more public and private partnerships and offer additional federal support for developing quantum-based technologies in computing, communications, medicine and other areas. Blackburn’s bills would help establish both the National Quantum Initiative Program and the Manufacturing USA Institute for Quantum Manufacturing for more cooperation and support for quantum research and development by both the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy’s national labs, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“Tennessee is home to quantum applications that have become critical as our nation competes on the global stage,” Blackburn said when she introduced her latest bill with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan. “Improving coordination at the national level will further equip our quantum communities, like Chattanooga, to make progress in critical sectors, including workforce development and supply chain management.”
During a visit to UTC on Tuesday, Blackburn said she is eager “to see Chattanooga grow as a tech hub” using its new quantum network built on the fiber optic network of EPB, which pioneered the nation’s first citywide high-speed internet more than a decade ago.
EPB began testing quantum technologies five years ago in a research partnership with a San Diego-based technology firm, Qubitekk, that was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a more secure electric grid. Qubitekk developed a means of using EPB’s fiber optic network to connect quantum nodes and allow researchers and startup companies to share information and test technologies on what will be the first commercial quantum network in the world in Chattanooga.