200+

Staff and

students

10

Intellectual

properties

$115M

Over 5 years

166

Publications from

2020 to 2022

The manipulation and control of quantum mechanics will revolutionize a range of technologies, 

including computers and sensors exponentially more powerful than today’s state of the art and 

information networks that are virtually unhackable. To realize this potential, Oak Ridge National 

Laboratory (ORNL), with its academic and industrial partners, is working to better understand and 

manipulate the behavior of the tiny entangled particles that serve as the building blocks of matter 

and exhibit the exotic properties that make quantum technologies possible. 

The Quantum Science Center (QSC) is tasked with realizing the potential of topological quantum 

materials for manipulating, transferring, and storing quantum information. Simultaneously, the 

QSC’s research process creates a pipeline moving new discoveries to industry to enhance US 

economic competitiveness, national security, and scientific leadership. 

“We lead in the discovery, design, and application of quantum materials, in 

quantum algorithm research, and in the development of new quantum 

devices that will significantly impact the national quantum ecosystem.”

 —QSC Director Travis Humble

Research Initiatives 

The QSC balances the short-term effort to understand quantum behavior with the long-term 

goal of achieving breakthroughs in protecting and using quantum information via three 

main areas of research.

• Quantum materials discovery and development—Quantum particles are notoriously fragile 

 under even the most subtle interferences and stresses. More resilient materials to store, transfer, 

 and manipulate these particles are being developed to make quantum computing and sensing 

 more reliable. 

• Quantum algorithms and simulation—QSC researchers are building tools for algorithms, 

 optimizations, and implementations that take advantage of novel quantum computing and 

 sensing technologies.

• Quantum devices and sensors for discovery science—New quantum devices and sensors offer higher resolution, 

 lower error rates, and other improvements compared with their conventional counterparts. The resulting hardware will 

 be applied to real-world science problems of interest to the US Department of Energy (DOE).

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

Quantum Science Center
www.ornl.gov

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle LLC for the US Department of Energy January 2023

CONTACT:

Travis Humble 

Director

Quantum Science Center

humblets@ornl.gov

865-574-6162

One Bethel Valley Road

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Critical Collaboration and Program Leadership

The QSC is one of five multidisciplinary National Quantum Information Science Research Centers supported by DOE’s Office of Science. 

As headquarters of the QSC, ORNL leads a consortium of 16 partners representing national laboratories, academia, and industry. The 

Laboratory’s quantum research program dates back nearly two decades and has achieved numerous quantum science breakthroughs. These 

accomplishments include setting the record for quantum information transfer, increasing the range covered by quantum key distribution systems, 

and partnering with industry to demonstrate quantum supremacy—the notion that a quantum computer can outperform a world-leading 

classical computer at certain tasks.

The Path Forward

A key component of the QSC’s efforts to overcome long-standing quantum research roadblocks and design next-generation technologies is the 

professional development of early-career scientists and engineers. Students and postdoctoral associates participate in QSC-related research efforts 

at collaborating institutions, cultivating the expertise needed to help achieve the QSC research goals and ensure America’s scientific leadership 

and national security. To efficiently advance scalable and coherent quantum information systems, QSC researchers of all levels follow a codesign 

philosophy that involves coordination across the QSC’s initiatives as well as close collaboration with industry partners and other stakeholders from 

the earliest stages of development through the completion and distribution of novel technologies to the marketplace. This strategy ensures that 

future quantum applications will effectively address the needs of both the quantum research community and the private sector.