SR0604 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0604 LRB103 35333 MST 65392 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois' microelectronics and quantum ecosystem can pave the way for solving innovation and national security challenges for the nation; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is home to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which received $115M from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is home to Argonne National Laboratory, which received $115M from the U.S. Department of Energy to support Q-NEXT, an effort that will translate quantum discoveries into technologies that benefit society; and

WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign received $25M from the National Science Foundation for a Quantum Leap grant to advance scientific, technological, and workforce development goals; and

WHEREAS, The University of Chicago received $25M from the National Science Foundation for a Quantum Leap Grant to pioneer new ways to use quantum technology in biology and to develop the quantum workforce through STEM education and outreach; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is a national leader with $280M in federal funding for quantum initiatives supported by the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago Quantum Exchange, one of the largest quantum collaboratives in the country, leads efforts to advance the science and engineering of quantum information, train the quantum workforce of tomorrow, and drive the local and national quantum economy; and

WHEREAS, The University of Chicago's Polsky Center, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the Chicago Quantum Exchange launched the nation's first quantum startup accelerator, Duality, which supports quantum startups, providing the critical resources they need to develop and scale their businesses; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois invested $200M in quantum-related research efforts at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which will help support a joint research building within Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has the third-highest number of universities engaged in quantum research and has the third-most quantum degrees in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Illinois' Community College System is the third-largest system in the nation and the largest workforce development provider in the State, offering programs that are directly aligned with the needs of their local and state industries serving the needs of nearly 10,000 employers across the State; and

WHEREAS, An Illinois-based proposal was selected as a 2023 U.S. Tech Hubs Designee for Quantum by the U.S. Economic Development Agency, a program that aims to strengthen U.S. economic and national security with investments in regions across the country with assets and resources with the potential to become globally competitive in the technologies and industries of the future and, for those industries, companies, and the good jobs they create, to start, grow, and remain in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The State invested $500 million to establish the Discovery Partners Institute and the Illinois Innovation Network led by the University of Illinois System to establish a network of research and innovation hubs that will serve as a magnet for technology and talent; and

WHEREAS, A University of Illinois Chicago-led, U.S. Department of Energy-funded national consortium will educate the next generation of quantum engineers and provide pathways into the quantum computing workforce for groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields; and

WHEREAS, The National Science Foundation-funded National Q-12 Education Partnership, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will expand access to K-12 quantum learning tools and inspire the next generation of quantum leaders; and

WHEREAS, Since 2017, Illinois quantum startups have raised $33.2 million through 27 agreements, the second-highest number of deals by quantum startups in the country; and

WHEREAS, Chicagoland's 124-mile quantum loop is the country's longest quantum network; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has the world's first publicly accessible quantum network node, the first quantum technology deployed on public infrastructure that the public can directly access at the Urbana Free Library, led by faculty from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and

WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Grainger College of Engineering has more combined computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering bachelor's graduates than any other college of engineering in the nation and is starting a new semiconductor minor program; and

WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago are each co-leading new U.S. Department of Defense Microelectronics Commons Hubs to carry out microelectronics research in support of national security and next generation technology for the benefit of the nation; and

WHEREAS, The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has 40 top ten ranked degree programs and specialties, including micro-electronics disciplines; and

WHEREAS, John Bardeen, the inventor of the transistor, perhaps the most important invention of the 20th century, brought semiconductor research to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Grainger College of Engineering is the place where the inventors of the LED, transistor, and the integrated circuit called home; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has enacted The Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity Act (MICRO), which creates a new suite of statewide tax incentive programs for makers of semiconductors, microchips, or component parts, making Illinois a welcoming and strategic location for manufacturers of microchips and semiconductors looking for their next U.S. manufacturing site; and

WHEREAS, Illinois universities received a National Science Foundation Future of Semiconductors Workforce Grant to boost new semiconductor technologies, manufacturing, and workforce training and development in the State and across the nation; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Energy invested over $22M in Fermilab and Argonne for microelectronics research; and

WHEREAS, Companies have invested $90M in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's IBM-Illinois' Discovery Accelerator Institute to support research and education in AI, cloud, and quantum technologies and $5M in educational programs at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to bolster the U.S. semiconductor workforce; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate and thank all those who continue to advance innovative technology in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to President Joseph R. Biden, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie E. Locascio, University of Illinois President Timothy L. Killeen, University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos, Illinois Community College Board Chair Dr.Lazaro Lopez, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.