AFRL Forms Quantum Hub in Partnership With Brookhaven National Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have established the Empire State Quantum Network to boost the labs’ quantum communication and collaboration. 

Formed through a memorandum of understanding signed in December 2023, the labs’ initiative will explore near- and long-term quantum networking opportunities between AFRL’s Distributed Quantum Networking Testbed Local Area Network in Rome, New York, and Brookhaven Lab’s Wide Area Quantum Network also in the New York City area. One of MOU’s focus areas is collaboration on the connection interoperability of the labs’ campuses, the AFRL said. 

According to Kathy Anne-Soderberg, AFRL senior scientist, both labs’ researches are contributors to shaping quantum information science applications, particularly in networking and expanding qubits’ lifetime.   

Gabriella Carini, Brookhaven Lab’s instrumentation director, expects the partnership to hurdle some of the critical challenges to mature quantum technology applications, given AFRL’s “much knowledge in QIS.” 

One of the AFRL’s recent initiatives is the development of silicon photonic microchips that can receive quantum information, which has secured funding under the Department of Defense’s Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation Program.