edited by Leah Hesla

Leah Hesla is a science writer at Argonne National Laboratory and former senior writer in the Fermilab Office of Communication.

The results are out: According to a just-released economic impact study, Fermilab provides substantial benefits for the state of Illinois. It has directly and indirectly generated millions of dollars for Illinois households, businesses and the state. The total annual economic impact in Illinois came to $452 million.

Researchers are wielding quantum physics, technologies and expertise to develop a proposed Illinois Express Quantum Network, which would stretch between Fermilab and Northwestern University’s Evanston and Chicago campuses. The metropolitan-scale, quantum-classical hybrid design combines quantum technologies with existing classical networks to create a multinode system for multiple users.