Milestone Partnership
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a milestone in the partnership between the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory to extend New York State's existing quantum communications network. The successful experiment by researchers at both institutions marks a key step in advancing this partnership and the cutting-edge quantum technology needed to expand the quantum network across the state. The expansion of the quantum communications network will enable new discoveries across various industrial sectors, bolster research and cybersecurity, improve computer operations including for large language models, and unlock new opportunities to improve New Yorkers’ lives.
"New York State is committed to investing in cutting-edge research and innovation in emerging fields that move our society forward," Governor Hochul said. "The partnership between the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory serves as an excellent example of how collaboration can advance discovery and create transformative technologies."
Last year, Governor Hochul announced a $300 million New York State investment to establish the Quantum Research and Innovation Hub at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The strategic investment creates New York’s premier facility dedicated to groundbreaking research and education in quantum science and technology, with a particular focus on quantum communication and networking. The purpose of quantum computing is to improve computer operations and functions while requiring far less energy. This technology will be able to unlock computing power to address critical issues facing New York State, the nation, and the world, and will do so with far greater computing power to achieve faster results.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, "Quantum technology has incredible potential to address complex global challenges and revolutionize industries. With continued investment and support from Governor Hochul and the State Legislature, this partnership embodies SUNY's commitment to furthering groundbreaking research and positioning New York as a global leader."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "The State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory’s partnership underscores what’s possible when academic excellence and world-class research come together. We applaud Governor Hochul’s leadership and are excited to aid in the creation of the next generation of quantum technology."
State University of New York President Andrea Goldsmith said, “Extending our quantum communication network to include a wireless link is a major leap forward in our development of the Quantum Internet of Things. I’m thrilled that our brilliant Stony Brook researchers, together with our partners at Brookhaven National Laboratory, have demonstrated impressive progress in overcoming the significant challenges of sending quantum information wirelessly via entangled photons. By unlocking wireless quantum connectivity and incorporating it into the world’s only metropolitan-area network that supports quantum communication via entanglement, we are transforming secure data transmission while igniting Long Island as an innovation hub. We are profoundly grateful to our elected officials, Governor Hochul, Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and Rep. LaLota for their generous support and for securing investments in Long Island's quantum research. Ultimately, this places New York State at the forefront of quantum information science and its application to secure communication for finance, healthcare and cybersecurity.”
Empire State Development Board Chairman Kevin Law said, “Long Island has long been home to some of the world’s most important scientific institutions, and today’s milestone demonstrates what is possible when those institutions work together. The partnership between Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory is helping establish Long Island as a leader in quantum technology and positioning the region to attract talent, investment, and future economic growth for years to come.”
Brookhaven Lab Director John Hill said, “Brookhaven has long been at the forefront of quantum information science, and this achievement represents another important step in that journey. This free-space link is a key milestone in its own right, but it
is also part of a much larger roadmap leading to distributed quantum systems. We will continue advancing the network’s capabilities so that researchers can connect increasingly sophisticated quantum systems together to address a range of problems from computation to communication to sensing in ways that just aren’t possible today.”
Researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven Lab have successfully transmitted light particles containing quantum information through open air between the two institutions. The researchers used a laser to generate quantum states of light, each containing just a few individual photons, in the state-of-the-art Quantum Watchtower at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. From the Watchtower, the photons exited the core of an optical fiber approximately 5 microns in diameter, which is less than one-tenth the width of a human hair, and travelled 13 miles to Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Quantum Lighthouse in Upton, New York. This is a key breakthrough toward extending the nation’s longest quantum network — already connecting eight nodes across several institutions — beyond the limits of fiber-optic cables.
The Quantum Lighthouse and Quantum Watchtower, along with a third facility under development at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, make up a free-space optical (FSO) link that adds a wireless component to the record-setting quantum network currently spanning 161 miles and several institutions across Long Island and the New York City metropolitan area.
Using this network, pioneered by the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven Lab, researchers can transmit entangled photons that are intrinsically linked by the laws of quantum mechanics through commercial fiber. Successfully testing the transmission of photons across free-space links demonstrates a promising path toward connecting quantum devices across long distances. The researchers anticipate being able to use the free-space optical link to connect future quantum computers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory, and far beyond, which will enable them to work together and tackle some of the nation’s most pressing scientific challenges.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, more than 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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