The University of Chicago and Toyota have signed a multi-year research agreement to develop quantum technologies for mobility, according to a release published by The Quantum Insider. The collaboration will explore quantum sensing, secure communications and new materials: for example, technology to help vehicles sense their surroundings better, protection for vehicle data transmissions, and new materials for energy storage.
The work will start with five joint projects at the university's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, with Toyota funding up to $1 million a year. The first phase will fund up to eight graduate students. The initiative is led by David Awschalom, director of the Chicago Quantum Institute.
A joint steering committee of the university and the Toyota Research Institute of North America will coordinate the projects, and two Toyota researchers are already at the university as visiting scientists. Researcher Giulia Galli says some of the questions concern the analysis of energy storage systems over a 20-year horizon.