On a nondescript Saturday morning in Illinois, while most high school students were catching up on sleep or playing sports, a group of Chicago Public School students were stepping onto a different kind of field, one that may play a significant role across the state’s future.
There was no grass beneath their feet – only the polished industrial floor of Fermilab's so-called "Quantum Garage," where some of the world's most cutting-edge scientific research is taking place in Batavia, about 40 miles west of Chicago.
For many of the students, the question before them wasn't whether they wanted to earn a doctorate degree in quantum mechanics or whether they understood the complexity of the machinery in front of them.
It was something much simpler, less scientific, and more human.
Do you belong here?
Fermilab’s staff wanted to know, not because of the students’ genius or scholarly potential necessarily, but because of the primary qualification – wonder.
"They are somewhat intimidated, feeling a little imposter syndrome, feeling like, 'Do I belong here? Is this going to be above my knowledge level? Is the person next to me going to know far more than me?'" says the head of Fermilab's Office of Education and Public Engagement, Natalie Johnson.
Johnson breaks the quantum-ice by telling students that even the scientists are still learning. It’s her job to help prepare the next generation of quantum researchers – and like with going to the moon – many of those journeys begin long before college.
"None of us know a lot about quantum at this point," Johnson said. "That's, by definition, what a researcher does. They investigate, they explore, they are trying to answer questions."
The scientists wanted to know if the next generation, not of academics – but of humanity, feels the excitement and trepidation of the generations that came before – because they’re the ones about to live through a technological sea-change.
Quantum is prepared to absorb the interdisciplinary talents of musicians, lawyers and business professionals – and Illinois is betting that quantum will support how people across STEM and the humanities work and interact as parts of a 21st Century quantum workforce.
That notion, of quantum finally moving from the theorists and laboratories and into our daily lives, is becoming increasingly important to policy makers across Illinois from Chicago to the prairies of downstate.
Illinois is trying to move the quantum starting line by introducing the subject to students earlier and emphasizing that the field needs workers beyond physics and engineering – although those skills will continue to be highly sought after. That educational effort is backed by an ambitious public investment.
Illinois has committed $500 million to establish the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on Chicago's South Side, created the Quantum Enterprise Zone and expanded incentives to attract quantum research and technology companies.
In Washington, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, joined bipartisan lawmakers in sponsoring the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026, which would extend federal quantum research while expanding education and workforce development.
Taken together, the initiatives reflect a broader strategy: Illinois is investing simultaneously in research, education, commercialization and talent, betting that its greatest advantage will be not only the laboratories it builds, but the people it prepares to work in them. Signs that the strategy is beginning to attract industry are already emerging.
In April, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and IBM announced the company will establish its FutureNow Chicago delivery center at IQMP, creating 750 full-time jobs over the next five years in fields including quantum, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data science.
The partnership also includes a workforce initiative with City Colleges of Chicago designed to connect Illinois residents with apprenticeships and careers in advanced technology.
At a time when state governments across the country are being criticized for focusing on short-term challenges, Illinois' quantum strategy is standing out for its long horizon.
Rather than reacting to an established industry, Illinois is attempting to build the workforce before the industry fully arrives – essentially trying to time the market through a coordinated, multigenerational investment in education, research and commercialization.
A Quantum prairie
Each spring, Fermilab's Saturday Morning Quantum program invites high school students from across Illinois into laboratories where many arrive wondering whether they belong.
"They are somewhat intimidated, feeling a little imposter syndrome, feeling like, 'Do I belong here? Is this going to be above my knowledge level? Is the person next to me going to know far more than me?'" says the head of Fermilab's Office of Education and Public Engagement, Natalie Johnson.
Johnson breaks the quantum-ice by telling students that even the scientists are still learning. It’s her job to help prepare the next generation of quantum researchers – and like with going to the moon – many of those journeys begin long before college.
"None of us know a lot about quantum at this point," Johnson said. "That's, by definition, what a researcher does. They investigate, they explore, they are trying to answer questions."
Her end advice to the students is the starting point for her bosses at Fermilab: "The only dumb question that you can have [about quantum mechanics] is the one that you don't ask."
For many students, that first Saturday morning is only the beginning, and they will remember it long after the taste of the Pop-Tarts.
College Freshmen Begin Connecting the (Quantum) Dots
For many students, that first Saturday morning at Fermilab leads to the next step: knowledge acquisition and skills development. For those looking to jump right in, new undergraduate programs are fast-tracking the willing and able.
At Illinois Wesleyan University, Professor and Chair of Physics, Dr. Narendra K. Jaggi says a bachelor’s degree is becoming an increasingly important part of Illinois' quantum strategy.
"Quantum technologies will influence far more than physics alone," Jaggi says.
"The future workforce will need people who can move across scientific, technical, ethical, societal and communication boundaries."
IWU’s new interdisciplinary program introduces quantum science to students in fields ranging from physics and chemistry to art, music and accounting through a first-year course called "QST for All."
Jaggi said undergraduate institutions also provide an environment where students gain confidence through mentoring and hands-on research.
"Many students discover their interests and confidence in smaller undergraduate settings where faculty interaction is close and personal," he said.
"That kind of environment can be especially important in expanding participation and strengthening the long-term talent pipeline for Illinois and the broader Midwest."
The goal, Jaggi says, is not to train only future physicists but to influence areas such as computing, communications, sensing, materials, drug design, energy and national security.
"Most people do not need to understand the detailed mathematics of quantum mechanics to appreciate its importance, just as most people use smartphones without understanding semiconductor physics.”
For students inspired at Fermilab and trained at universities like Illinois Wesleyan, the next stop may be just a few hours north in Chicago.
Last Stop: Your Quantum Future
"We're really thinking about the domestic workforce," said Emily Easton, IQMP’s communication lead.
"What we're doing in quantum... is a really unique opportunity to look at how you start to build a workforce from the beginning, with all of the lessons we've learned from semiconductors, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, things are moving fast."
Easton compares quantum today to the early days of the internet. Few people could have predicted how that technology would reshape daily life or the careers it would create.
"The ideas we haven't even thought of yet," she said, "are where the real potential is.
Once quantum gets going, things will happen we can’t imagine today, that’s how powerful the technology is. Whether that future unfolds as Illinois hopes remains to be seen.
What is already clear is that the state isn't waiting for the quantum industry to arrive. It's trying to grow up alongside it.
