KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (June 3, 2025) — The UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm successfully hosted IONQ’s first Quantum Immersion Day at the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), uniting scientists, engineers and business leaders to advance Tennessee’s quantum technology ecosystem.

The event fostered critical dialogue between academia and industry, with IONQ—a global quantum computing leader—demonstrating how its hardware and software solutions can translate research into practical applications. Experts from national labs, local universities and private enterprises explored collaborative opportunities in quantum computing, materials science and workforce development.

Held at IAMM, a hub for cutting-edge research, the immersion day underscored the UT Research Park’s role in accelerating innovation by connecting stakeholders across the quantum landscape. See IONQ’s LinkedIn post here!

Learn more:

IAMM – The Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing drives interdisciplinary research in quantum materials, sustainable manufacturing and next-gen technologies, housing state-of-the-art facilities for industry and academic partnerships.

IONQ – A leader in trapped-ion quantum computing, IONQ develops scalable, high-fidelity quantum systems used by enterprises, governments and researchers to solve complex problems in optimization, chemistry and AI.

About Spark Innovation Center 

The Spark Innovation Center is an initiative of the University of Tennessee Research Park that leverages the unique science and technology resources of the region to help high-tech, high-impact startups grow, succeed, and stay in East Tennessee. Spark offers promising energy technology companies access to top-quality lab space, expert mentoring, and coordinating support services from partner organizations in the region.  
 
The Spark Innovation Center is supported by the University of Tennessee, the City of Knoxville, the Department of Energy, the Appalachian Regional Commission, Launch Tennessee, the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Truist Foundation, and works in close partnership with the region’s Innov865 Alliance and the Heartland Climate Tech Partnership.  For more information, visit tnresearchpark.org/spark/. 

About the University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm  

The University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm is the gateway for collaboration between UT’s flagship university and external partners. The park has a total of 365,000 square feet of developed space supporting 20 tenants employing 800 employees and focuses on three major research themes: advanced materials and manufacturing, biomedical innovation, and data-intensive applications. For more information, visit tnresearchpark.org.