Fort Lewis College Holds 4-Day Quantum Workshop Under $127 Million Tech-Hub Grant
Updated
Updated · The Journal · Jul 9
Fort Lewis College Holds 4-Day Quantum Workshop Under $127 Million Tech-Hub Grant
1 articles · Updated · The Journal · Jul 9
Summary
Fort Lewis College this week ran its second quantum computing and nanotechnology workshop, giving high school and undergraduate students four days of hands-on lab and software training.
The program stems from a share of a $127 million federal-state Elevate Quantum Tech Hub workforce grant awarded in 2024, which also funded student jobs, future research and an optical tweezer system.
Students spent 8-hour days learning quantum mechanics, spectroscopy and superconductors, while also entering the nano lab in clean-room gear to build projects such as semiconductor wafers.
Jeff Jessing said the grant has equipped the rural Durango campus with advanced tools including microscopes, a Denton vacuum and a tube furnace, helping connect Southwest Colorado to emerging quantum work.
Fort Lewis plans to use future grant funding to build Josephson junctions on campus and widen access for local students, extending the workshop into a longer-term workforce pipeline.