Forty high school students with Chicago Public Schools graduated from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory’s Saturday Morning Quantum* (SMQ*) program on May 31, 2025.
The inaugural 10-week program was held at the Olive Harvey College Learning Center in Chicago’s South Shore community, near the Midwest’s up and coming global destination for quantum, the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park — a planned 128-acre quantum computing technology campus.
“Teaching students about how the world works at the quantum level and how quantum technology could transform our life is imperative in this rapidly changing world,” said Young-Kee Kim, interim director of Fermilab.
This new program was modeled after Fermilab’s Saturday Morning Physics (SMP) outreach program that is held annually at the laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. SMP has been successfully running for over 40 years.
SMQ* — the asterisk meaning “more” — was developed by Fermilab’s Education and Public Engagement team along with the lab’s Superconducting Quantum Materials Systems team to bring a quantum science curriculum to high school students in the City of Chicago.
Once a week during the 10-week course students learned about core topics in the field of quantum science and quantum computing — including quantum mechanics, superconducting technology, quantum computing and sensing, engineering and cryogenic platforms for quantum computers.
On top of gaining technical and scientific knowledge, students worked with quantum scientists and engineers and learn about what led them to pursue their career paths.
Commenting on the experience, one student said, “Thanks to the teachers, I was able to learn more about quantum and quantum computing. There were no dumb questions in class.”
Led by Fermilab staff, students also had the opportunity to tour laboratories and scientific spaces at Fermilab, including the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS), where scientists and researchers work to develop and deploy the world’s most powerful quantum computers and sensors.
“Touring Fermilab and learning what they do and how they do it was rewarding,” said another student.
During the graduation ceremony, students received certificates for completing the program.
With programs like SMQ*, Fermilab is building pathways into science for Chicagoland students by bringing hands-on learning and mentorship into the heart of Chicago while inspiring future generations of scientists.
The Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center is one of the five U.S. Department of Energy National Quantum Information Science Research Centers. Led by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, SQMS is a collaboration of 36 partner institutions — national labs, academia and industry — working together to bring transformational advances in the field of quantum information science. The center leverages Fermilab’s expertise in building complex particle accelerators to engineer multiqubit quantum processor platforms based on state-of-the-art qubits and superconducting technologies. Working hand in hand with embedded industry partners, SQMS will build a quantum computer and new quantum sensors at Fermilab, which will open unprecedented computational opportunities. For more information, please visit sqmscenter.fnal.gov.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is America’s premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. Fermi Forward Discovery Group manages Fermilab for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Visit Fermilab’s website at www.fnal.gov and follow us on social media
Recommended reading
High school students working with Argonne and Fermilab compete in the NAACP’s academic olympics
Under mentorship from Argonne and Fermilab experts, six high school students participated in the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics in Boston in July.
South Bend, Indiana, school gets a chance at physics research with QuarkNet
A high school science class participates in CMS data analysis through QuarkNet.
Particle physicist for a day
This isn’t your average field trip. This month, more than 6,000 high school students participating in Hands-on Particle Physics Masterclasses will have the chance to form national or international scientific collaborations, just like real particle physicists do.