Preeti Chalsani and Harley Johnson, Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park

Preeti Chalsani, Chief Quantum Officer at Intersect Illinois, and Harley Johnson, CEO of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, are interviewed by Yuval Boger. Preeti and Harley discuss the rapid creation and ambitious goals of the IQMP, a state-backed initiative to support the scale-up of quantum computing and microelectronics. They talk about the park’s public-private structure, a $500M infrastructure investment by the state, early tenants like PsiQuantum and and Diraq, and its emphasis on workforce development and cross-sector collaboration. They also explore Illinois’ unique advantages as well as the challenges of infrastructure timelines, community impact, managing expectations in a fast-moving field, and much more.