(This story was updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy.)
If all goes to plan, Palm Beach State College will start training students next year to support the emerging profession of combining subatomic particles with quantum physics to make computers more powerful than humanity has seen.
PBSC recently won a $4.95 million grant from the Florida Department of Commerce’s Job Growth Grant Fund to offer quantum computing support courses in downtown West Palm Beach, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County said Feb. 12.
Courses would start in the spring of 2027, PBSC representatives said Feb. 13.
PBSC estimates that 970 students will enroll during the first decade of its Quantum Systems Certification program, and 570 to complete these advanced computing courses.
What is quantum computing?
Quantum computing relies on the principle that subatomic particles can exist in multiple states at once.
Whereas traditional computer processors use bits, which convey one piece of information at a time via a 1 or a 0, quantum computer processors make use of qubits, which can convey more than one piece of information. As qubits combine together in a processor, their computing power grows exponentially.
The technology is in its infancy and practical uses remain elusive. Qubits are sensitive, error-prone and susceptible to interference, and they must operate in extreme conditions.
But many experts believe it’s a matter of time before companies overcome those hurdles and produce computers whose power will render today’s devices obsolete.
Such breakthroughs could lead to revolutionary innovations in medical research, artificial intelligence and countless other fields, while rendering existing cybersecurity protections useless.
Researchers at Google announced in 2024 they built a quantum computer that performed a mathematical calculation in five minutes that a regular supercomputer computer could not finish within the time that the known universe has existed.
How will Palm Beach State spend its quantum computing grant?
PBSC will spend about $1.2 million from the grant to buy the special machines necessary for its new courses in order to train students in supporting quantum computing, like how auto technicians and mechanics help fix and maintain cars.
PBSC will spend $3.1 million of the grant money renovating a 100-year-old building it owns between the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts and the site where a Vanderbilt University graduate campus is being built in West Palm Beach. That PBSC building will house what the college calls its Quantum Innovation Center.
PBSC quantum grant is county’s latest computing advancement
PBSC’s Quantum Innovation Center, college president Ava Parker has said, would be a place where students can collaborate with researchers and employees at startup technology companies, complete with access to high-speed internet, a quantum-sensing lab and 3D printing spaces.
PBSC’s quantum computing grant is the latest example of the emerging tech field taking interest in Palm Beach County.
California-based AI software company ServiceNow plans to open an 850-person regional office in downtown West Palm Beach after the city awarded it a $2 million grant, and the state contributed $13 million.
California-based quantum computing company D-Wave Systems is moving its headquarters to Boca Raton and bringing a quantum supercomputer with it to Florida Atlantic University, the company has said. FAU is spending $20 million, and the city is offering incentives to D-Wave.
Email news tips and ideas to Chris Persaud at cpersaud@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach State College to launch quantum computing program
Reporting by Chris Persaud, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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