Julia Levy, Contributing Photographer

On Monday at 4 p.m., members of the Yale community celebrated the groundbreaking of Yale’s Upper Science Hill Building Complex, which University President Maurie McInnis has hailed as the “Grand Jewel of Science Hill.”

The building, approximately equal in size to the Yale Bowl, will mostly serve as space for  high-performance quantum research laboratories.

“[The Building] is fundamental to accelerate science and engineering at Yale,” McInnis said in her speech. 

Quantum computing machines work to solve problems that modern classical computers cannot solve in optimized runtimes. Such machines capitalize on the properties of superposition of a quantum object, referred to as a qubit. A qubit uses a property called entanglement to maximize the probability of reaching the correct answer in a quantum algorithm. 

Also in attendance at the groundbreaking were Gov. Ned Lamont, Provost Scott Strobel and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.

Strobel reflected on the process of planning the building, specifically the University Science Strategy Committee’s (USSC) decision to dedicate a building to supporting initiatives in quantum science, engineering and materials.

“If we could only build one building, it must be a building to propel sciences into the future,” Strobel said to the audience.

Elicker expressed excitement for the innovative potential brought by the building.

“[This building] will change the trajectory of our world and challenges we are facing around the globe,” Elicker said.

Francisco Matute, a visiting fourth year doctoral student studying quantum circuits at the event, noted that quantum machines have limitations. He added that, in contrast with other emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing’s implementation is more challenging and its applications are bound to some disciplines. However, Matute later wrote to the News, the impact that quantum research may have on specific fields, such as material engineering or biochemistry simulation, “well deserves the effort.”

“[The building] is high risk, high reward,” Matute said. 

The building is scheduled to be completed in 2030.

Correction, Oct. 7: The article has been corrected to reflect that the USSC made the decision to dedicate a building to particular science initiatives.

Update, Oct. 8: This story has been updated with additional comment from Francisco Matute.