A broad public-private coalition has earned a national award for efforts to make New Mexico a major quantum technology industry hub.
The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) earlier this month presented its State and Local Economic Development Award to the State of New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories, and their partners. The honor recognizes a coordinated, two-year campaign that has attracted five quantum technology companies to the state so far.
“New Mexico has always been where America solves its hardest problems,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a news release. “This award recognizes what happens when world-class national laboratories, state government, community colleges and the private sector lock arms around a shared vision.”
Coalition partners include Sandia, the state Technology and Innovation Office, Roadrunner Venture Studios and Central New Mexico Community College.
Quantinuum, QuEra Computing, Qunnect, Maybell Quantum, and Mesa Quantum have recently established or are setting up operations in the state. On the education front, CNM and Sandia have partnered to launch a first-of-its-kind quantum learning lab to prepare local workers for careers in the field; the first two cohorts have finished training. QCaMP, a specialized outreach program, has reached more than 75 educators and 85 high school students statewide.
Technology and Innovation Office director Nora Meyers Sackett said the state’s significant capital investments — totaling more than $100 million — have turned it into a magnet for cutting-edge researchers.
“New Mexico is one of the most compelling destinations in the country for companies and researchers working on the technologies of the future,” she said.
The FLC’s State and Local Economic Development Award was established in 1984 to honor initiatives that successfully link federal laboratory expertise with regional economic development goals.