SoCal Quantum Alliance Boosts California Quantum Research
SoCal Quantum Alliance
UCLA announced the founding of the SoCal Quantum Alliance (SQA) to make California the world's leader in next-generation technologies. In this new regional powerhouse, leading technological businesses, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and Southern California's premier universities collaborate to advance quantum science, workforce development, and economic growth.
The partnership is a regional anchor for Quantum California. It represents a shared commitment to keeping the state at the forefront of the quantum revolution, which will transform quantum computing, communications, and sensing worldwide.
Visionary Global Leadership Strategy
The SoCal Quantum Alliance is a strategic drive to turn scientific vision into commercial momentum, not merely research. Dee Dee Myers, head of the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and senior advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom, says the partnership represents the spirit of cooperation and leadership needed for the state's future.
Myers said the alliance is showing how regions can turn vision into momentum to keep California the global quantum technology hub by bringing together Southern California's scientific powerhouses with key industrial and civic partners.
The Center for Quantum Science and Engineering (CQSE) at UCLA initiated this collaboration. The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and UCLA College's Division of Physical Sciences administer this facility.
Quantum Innovation Hub: Physical Epicenter
The CQSE-led Quantum Innovation Hub is crucial to the alliance. This hub will bring together academics, researchers, business leaders, and startups in a specific location of UCLA Research Park.
This interdisciplinary project brings students and experts together to enhance quantum science through practical application. UCLA's vice chancellor for research and creative activities, Roger Wakimoto, welcomed the alliance as part of its commitment to collaborative discovery and regional leadership.
Wakimoto said, “The SoCal Quantum Alliance is how we, as a region, will deliver that vision. Powerful statewide vision from Quantum California.”
Powerful Founding Members Coalition
SQA is one of the largest US quantum innovation regional networks. Founders include government researchers, academics, and commercial leaders:
Pasadena City College, UCLA, USC, Caltech, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Cal State San Marcos.
Government & Research Labs: Aerospace Corp., HRL Laboratories, NASA JPL. Boeing, Cisco, IBM, and Monarch Quantum.
UCLA physics professor and CQSE director Eric Hudson coordinates this massive effort. Hudson credits years of cooperative research, primarily at the NSF Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation, for the SQA.
Hudson added, “They are coordinating quantum R&D throughout the state to regional economy and solidify California's position as a global leader by aligning goals with these institutions.”
Bringing Science and Industry Together: Concept to Capability
The SQA aims to accelerate scientific discoveries into defense and commercial purposes. Industry cooperation is key to the alliance's goals, enabling economic-boosting advances.
Boeing Disruptive Computing, Networks & Sensors chief scientist Jay Lowell said quantum technology might transform secure communications, planes, and military.
By providing industry a voice, the SoCal Quantum Alliance helps us cooperate with researchers and educators to accelerate concept-to-capability, Lowell added.
JPL director Dave Gallagher noted that local colleges have advanced quantum research for years. He believes the partnership provides the structure for continued cooperation, ensuring that research has immediate practical applications.
Diversifying Future Workforce Empowerment
The SQA is also interested in workforce development, the human component of the quantum revolution. Through partnerships with state institutions and community colleges including Pasadena City College and Cal State San Marcos, the alliance is preparing students and technical professionals for careers in quantum engineering, manufacturing, and applied technologies.
Inclusion is crucial to business success, according to CSUSM provost and vice president for academic affairs Carl Kemnitz. “Including California’s community colleges and state universities guarantees that this new sector benefits all Californians,” added Kemnitz. He stressed that CSUSM is committed to training a diverse and talented workforce for the quantum economy.
A Discovery Legacy
With the SQA, Southern California continues its quantum physics leadership. Richard Feynman, who received the Nobel Prize at Caltech, started this legacy, which continues today thanks to developments in materials science, networks, and quantum sensing.
The alliance links this rich tradition of excellent research with modern industrial leadership to ensure that California's next century of innovation is based on common purpose and discovery.
As it plans for the future, the alliance is actively recruiting new organizations dedicated to a healthy, inclusive, and internationally competitive quantum economy.