URochester, RIT Receive Federal Funding To Expand Experimental Ways To Communicate Using Individual Particles Of Light

The funding for the experimental quantum network RoQNET was secured by Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Representative Morelle.

The federal government is providing researchers at two Rochester-area universities funding to advance the future of sharing quantum information and further develop an experimental quantum network connecting their campuses. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is providing the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology $2 million to build new capabilities for the Rochester Quantum Network (RoQNET). This new funding is a direct result of Congressional support from Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Representative Morelle as part of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill.

URochester and RIT installed RoQNET in 2024, and last year they demonstrated that they can securely transmit single photons from one campus to another over 11 miles of fiber-optic telecommunications lines. Sending communications using individual particles of light offers unprecedented levels of security, making them impregnable from being cloned or intercepted without detection and preventing bad actors from accessing sensitive data.

Now, the researchers are preparing for experiments to share entangled photons across the network, leveraging the strange and surprising principles of quantum mechanics that defy the laws of conventional physics.

“We want to exploit some of the more unique features of quantum mechanics and quantum optics, specifically the idea of quantum entanglement, where two particles of light can share properties no matter how far apart they are,” says Nickolas Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, who leads URochester’s efforts. “One of these entangled photon pairs will live at RIT and one will live at URochester, and we aim to maintain that entanglement across RoQNET.”

Vamivakas says that harnessing quantum entanglement could eventually lead to sophisticated networks of quantum computers or advanced new methods to improve the resolution of space telescopes.

While there are other experimental quantum networks across the world, Vamivakas says RoQNET offers several distinct advantages, including the ability to transmit photons over normal fiber-optic lines like those that already exist across the globe. He says RoQNET is further distinguished from other quantum networks because of URochester’s expertise in quantum memory hardware and RIT’s ability to create quantum photonic integrated-circuit light sources.

“Our focus with RoQNET has been on the realization of heterogeneous entanglement between different types of qubits,” says Stefan Preble, RIT’s Bausch and Lomb Professor and PhD program director of microsystems engineering. “This funding supports further research to reach the next generation in quantum networking technologies.”

The funding will also enable hardware that will provide high school, undergraduate, and graduate students with some of their first opportunities to work with quantum optics and quantum networks.

“We are proud to be at the vanguard of the quantum revolution and thank Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Representative Morelle for their support securing crucial federal funding to make new advances in quantum communication,” says URochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf. “Our university is committing significant time, talent, and resources into advancing quantum technologies, as evidenced by our recent investment in the transdisciplinary Center for Coherence and Quantum Science. We are fortunate to have terrific local collaborators at RIT with whom we can combine our strengths to advance the Rochester region as a hub for advanced quantum research and innovation.”

A quantum network was also recently established on Long Island, New York, between Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University. Vamivakas, who has been partnering with the researchers downstate, likens it and RoQNET to local networks and hopes to eventually connect quantum research into a statewide network, adding other facilities in New York State, including the Air Force Research Laboratory and New York University. They will need to further advance quantum repeater technology to boost signals across such large distances, but the funding provides them with important resources to try to reach that goal. New York aims to establish quantum technology commercialization hubs across the state that will serve as incubators and foster the development and commercialization of quantum technologies.

Elected officials and leaders share support for RoQNET
US Senator Charles Schumer: “I was proud to secure this funding for URochester and RIT to help develop a cutting-edge Upstate quantum network. This win-win benefits national security and boosts economic development and innovation by enabling the Rochester region to connect into similar New York-based quantum communications networks positioning New York to be a global leader in quantum communication and networking. RoQNET will stimulate quantum workforce development for K–12 and college-age students and offer learning opportunities for students enrolled in the Monroe Community College Optical Technology program. Rochester is home to world-class research institutions, and this federal investment will help URochester and RIT continue advancing cutting-edge quantum networking work. I was proud to deliver this funding so Rochester’s innovators can keep pushing the boundaries of secure communications and strengthen the region’s role as a hub for advanced technology.”

US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: “I am proud to help deliver $2 million in funding for this quantum network expansion. Through the development of RoQNET, the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology are at the forefront of quantum research. Quantum has the ability to fundamentally change how we engage in secure communications. The Rochester region remains a preeminent leader in advanced technologies and high-impact research activities, and I look forward to seeing the results of this partnership.”

Congressman Joe Morelle: “Quantum technology is the next frontier of innovation, and thanks to world-class research universities like URochester and RIT, Rochester will continue to lead the way in these critical technologies. I was proud to secure funding in Washington to support RoQNET, and I cannot wait to see what they discover next.”