CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[the urban politician]

A quantum leap for Chicago's tech economy?
A pair of big-money federal research grants give Chicago a ground-floor opportunity in a field many expect to transform computing.


JOE CAHILL
On Business

Chicago was late to the digitization party, but now has a chance to catch the quantum computing wave.

A pair of big-money federal research grants give Chicago a ground-floor opportunity in a technology many expect to transform computing. As my colleague John Pletz reported Aug. 26, Argonne and Fermilab in suburban Chicago are among five national laboratories that will get $115 million apiece to study quantum computing.

The new technology uses atomic particles to process data far faster than today's computers using transistors. Quantum is also more secure than current technology.

Huge leaps in processing speed open up new vistas of potential applications, from rapid-fire drug development to earthquake forecasting to individualized consumer marketing. With so many commercial possibilities, big money already is flowing to quantum as companies and governments angle for an edge in the next big thing.

But real-world applications are still a ways off. First, quantum needs basics like standardized materials and processes.

That's where Argonne and Fermilab come in. Argonne's Q-Next initiative works with various laboratories, universities, and corporations like Boeing to develop communications standards and basic materials for quantum computing.

Fermilab, meanwhile, is applying its particle physics expertise to the new technology. The lab's Superconducting Quantum Materials Center will work to solve the unique challenges of atomic-level computing.

If all this sounds impossibly esoteric, it's also essential to realizing the promise of quantum computing. And those who master these basic challenges will have a head start toward bringing to market commercial applications that spawn new businesses and create 21st-Century jobs.

Thanks to Argonne and Fermilab, Chicago will become a repository of basic knowledge and expertise in quantum computing. We'll have a cadre of technologists who know how the technology works and what it can do. That's a critical first step on the path to commercialization.

The challenge, as always, will be hanging on to that knowledge and expertise. Our region has always been a hotbed of basic science: we split the atom, for crying out loud. But we also have a sorry history of standing by as others harvest the commercial fruits of our technological breakthroughs.
Insights developed and talent nurtured in our universities often migrates to either coast. The most painful example, of course, is Mosaic, the Internet browser developed at the University of Illinois but commercialized in California. Other emigres include the brains behind Oracle, PayPal, YouTube, AMD and Siebel Systems.

That talent drain helps explain why Chicago has been an also-ran in the high-growth technology industries that created millions of jobs over the past 30 years while employment fell in mainstay Chicago industries like manufacturing. We have no major players in information technology, mobile communications, ecommerce or social media. Where's our Apple, our Google, our Amazon?


Perhaps the quantum computing work at Argonne and Fermilab is a slender reed to support hopes that such a player or players will rise in Chicago. It takes a lot of money, experience and infrastructure to turn basic lab research into big business. Silicon Valley and other coastal tech hubs have more of all that stuff. They'll likely exert the same magnetic pull in quantum computing that they have in other technology sectors. Google, IBM and Intel already are pushing ahead in quantum.

Still, Chicago's tech community seems determined not to let this one get away. The University of Chicago, which manages Argonne and Fermilab, formed the Chicago Quantum Exchange three years ago in part to foster commercialization. David Awschalom, a Quantum Exchange director who's overseeing Q-Next, says Chicago has all the tools to capitalize on quantum brainstorms.

"You need a combination of excellence in physics, computer science, electrical engineering and materials science," he says. "Chicago is perfectly positioned for this. This is a moment where Illinois can become a leader."

Time will tell. But the opportunity is there.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/joe-...s-tech-economy

[SIGSEGV]

Clearly we physicists don't get enough credit for the local economy

That said, the first popular web browser was formed in Champaign (NCSA/Mosaic) and that didn't do the area all that much good.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

A quantum leap for Chicago's tech economy?
A pair of big-money federal research grants give Chicago a ground-floor opportunity in a field many expect to transform computing.


JOE CAHILL
On Business

Chicago was late to the digitization party, but now has a chance to catch the quantum computing wave.

A pair of big-money federal research grants give Chicago a ground-floor opportunity in a technology many expect to transform computing. As my colleague John Pletz reported Aug. 26, Argonne and Fermilab in suburban Chicago are among five national laboratories that will get $115 million apiece to study quantum computing.

The new technology uses atomic particles to process data far faster than today's computers using transistors. Quantum is also more secure than current technology.

Huge leaps in processing speed open up new vistas of potential applications, from rapid-fire drug development to earthquake forecasting to individualized consumer marketing. With so many commercial possibilities, big money already is flowing to quantum as companies and governments angle for an edge in the next big thing.

But real-world applications are still a ways off. First, quantum needs basics like standardized materials and processes.

That's where Argonne and Fermilab come in. Argonne's Q-Next initiative works with various laboratories, universities, and corporations like Boeing to develop communications standards and basic materials for quantum computing.

Fermilab, meanwhile, is applying its particle physics expertise to the new technology. The lab's Superconducting Quantum Materials Center will work to solve the unique challenges of atomic-level computing.

If all this sounds impossibly esoteric, it's also essential to realizing the promise of quantum computing. And those who master these basic challenges will have a head start toward bringing to market commercial applications that spawn new businesses and create 21st-Century jobs.

Thanks to Argonne and Fermilab, Chicago will become a repository of basic knowledge and expertise in quantum computing. We'll have a cadre of technologists who know how the technology works and what it can do. That's a critical first step on the path to commercialization.

The challenge, as always, will be hanging on to that knowledge and expertise. Our region has always been a hotbed of basic science: we split the atom, for crying out loud. But we also have a sorry history of standing by as others harvest the commercial fruits of our technological breakthroughs.
Insights developed and talent nurtured in our universities often migrates to either coast. The most painful example, of course, is Mosaic, the Internet browser developed at the University of Illinois but commercialized in California. Other emigres include the brains behind Oracle, PayPal, YouTube, AMD and Siebel Systems.

That talent drain helps explain why Chicago has been an also-ran in the high-growth technology industries that created millions of jobs over the past 30 years while employment fell in mainstay Chicago industries like manufacturing. We have no major players in information technology, mobile communications, ecommerce or social media. Where's our Apple, our Google, our Amazon?


Perhaps the quantum computing work at Argonne and Fermilab is a slender reed to support hopes that such a player or players will rise in Chicago. It takes a lot of money, experience and infrastructure to turn basic lab research into big business. Silicon Valley and other coastal tech hubs have more of all that stuff. They'll likely exert the same magnetic pull in quantum computing that they have in other technology sectors. Google, IBM and Intel already are pushing ahead in quantum.

Still, Chicago's tech community seems determined not to let this one get away. The University of Chicago, which manages Argonne and Fermilab, formed the Chicago Quantum Exchange three years ago in part to foster commercialization. David Awschalom, a Quantum Exchange director who's overseeing Q-Next, says Chicago has all the tools to capitalize on quantum brainstorms.

"You need a combination of excellence in physics, computer science, electrical engineering and materials science," he says. "Chicago is perfectly positioned for this. This is a moment where Illinois can become a leader."

Time will tell. But the opportunity is there.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/joe-...s-tech-economy

The bold part encapsulates the problem in Chicago perfectly; innovation is born here, but then commercialized/monetized outside of Chicago, so we essentially have nothing to show for it...and this is not a new thing but rather a problem that has been happening for decades. I do not know how this could be remedied..

[the urban politician]

Great news locally. Although we don't have any major COVID vaccine breakthroughs going on with any of our local pharmaceuticals, Abbott is a shining star when it comes to Covid testing. This newly announced one is a potential REAL game changer. Easy to use and distribute, 15 minute results, and highly accurate. Mark my words--game changer for the COVID pandemic:

August 27, 2020 01:33 PM 5 MINUTES AGO
U.S. to buy almost all 15-minute tests Abbott produces this year
The Trump administration plans to purchase almost all of the coming supply of the breakthrough COVID-19 test.

(Bloomberg)—The U.S. government will acquire almost all of the 15-minute COVID tests Abbott Laboratories plans to produce this year after the company was granted emergency approval for use of the test, according to people familiar with the deal.

Under the agreement, the government will pay $750 million for 150 million tests, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deal isn’t yet formally announced. Approval for the test came on Wednesday, and analysts quickly agreed the new assay—which works without relying on laboratory equipment—could help ease delays that have crimped much of the nation’s testing capacity.

The deal, reported earlier by Politico, will be formally announced by President Donald Trump, who is set Thursday to give his acceptance speech during the Republican convention. The company’s shares climbed 9% to $112.59 at 1:25 p.m. in New York trading.

The Trump administration has been criticized for failing to institute a coordinated testing approach for the U.S. to track the outbreak. Now, it plans to purchase almost all of the coming supply of a breakthrough product that can be used broadly and promises to deliver results on a mass scale no matter where it’s given.


Unlike other tests for the virus, Abbott’s BinaxNOW is entirely self-contained and doesn’t need any other equipment to get results, meaning large volumes can be done simultaneously.

Abbott has said it will produce 50 million of the new tests a month starting in October. It expects to have “tens of millions” of tests for September, said Andrea Wainer, the executive vice president for the Rapid & Molecular Diagnostics unit at Abbott.

“This is a major development that will help our country to remain open, get Americans back to work, and kids back to school,” said Alyssa Farah, the White House communications director. “The Trump Administration is proud to partner with Abbott labs to make this purchase possible to help the American people.”

Initial Round

It’s not entirely clear who will receive the initial round of tests. An administration official said they will go first to nursing homes, schools and other high-risk populations, but details were scant. Demand is expected to be high, as they could help guarantee the safety of everything from flights to restaurants to offices.

BinaxNOW uses a nasal swab and a small reactive card, and it can be administered by a range of health-care workers, including pharmacists, at almost any location. Abbott will start shipping the test within two weeks, it said.

Demand for an antigen test “could be ENORMOUS -– think about employers, restaurants, games/events, transportation etc. using these tests for ensuring safety,” Vijay Kumar, an analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients.

“This test approval represents a key requirement for society to ultimately return to a sense of normalcy,” said Robbie Marcus, an analyst at JPMorgan, in a note. He forecast Covid-19 related testing may generate $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion of revenue for the year, “a sizable tailwind for a company already better exposed to the virus than many in our coverage.”


The test uses so-called lateral flow technology, similar to the method used in at-home pregnancy tests. Essentially, these tests run a liquid sample along the surface of a pad with reactive molecules to show a result. While a pregnancy test is designed to detect a hormone, Abbott’s BinaxNOW looks for an antigen, a tiny portion of the coronavirus protein that’s collected from inside the nose.

“It’s detecting them at a critical point in the infection cycle, when they are at the highest risk of spreading disease,” said John Hackett, divisional vice president of applied research and technology at Abbott Diagnostics. “This will be a powerful tool in preventing the transmission of the virus and helping us return to normal life.”

While several other companies are selling antigen tests that also work quickly, they require some equipment to get the results. The technology also sometimes yields lower accuracy in exchange for working faster.

The BinaxNOW is 97.1% sensitive, meaning it correctly diagnoses those with coronavirus that often, and 98.5% specific, meaning an infection is correctly ruled out that often.

At the same time, Abbott is launching a mobile app called Navica that will be connected to the test, giving users an electronic record of their coronavirus status. The results could be used much like a boarding pass to allow those who are negative to return to everyday activities.

Required to Report

Those with a positive result will be told to quarantine and contact their doctor. Health-care workers who conduct the tests are required to report positive results to public health officials.

The U.S. is currently running about 800,000 tests a day nationwide, or 24 million a month, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Abbott built two new manufacturing facilities in the U.S. to produce BinaxNOW, allowing it to more than double the number of tests available to 50 million a month.

“Our nation’s frontline health-care workers and clinical laboratory personnel have been under siege since the onset of this pandemic,” said Charles Chiu, a professor of Laboratory Medicine at University of California, San Francisco. “The availability of rapid testing for COVID-19 will help support overburdened laboratories, accelerate turnaround times and greatly expand access to people who need it.”

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/heal...-produces-year

[the urban politician]

^ Along with the above, just manufacturing these new tests will create 2000 production jobs in Gurnee

August 27, 2020 12:05 PM UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Abbott to hire 2,000 in Chicago area to make rapid COVID tests
New hires will get on-the-job training to begin cranking out 50 million credit card-size rapid COVID-19 tests a month.
JON ASPLUND

Abbott Laboratories will make around 2,000 temporary hires in the Chicago area to ramp up production of its recently authorized rapid COVID-19 test.

The jobs will be in place for the foreseeable future at Abbott’s new manufacturing site in Gurnee, an Abbott statement said. Many of the positions do not require technical experience and can be trained on the job, the statement said.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Along with the above, just manufacturing these new tests will create 2000 production jobs in Gurnee

WOW. I would have lost that bet in like four different ways. I would have expected them to a) be made in Puerto Rico or someplace like that b) be part of a current production line and c) require about 1/10th the number of workers.

Two thousand workers moves the needle on regional employment, even in a very large metro.

[sixo1]

It is nice that Chicago-based Sterling Bay and a Dallas-based company are developing life science research buildings in Chicago. Source. As a biologist, I can tell you there is no way we can work from home. When the life science industry grows in Chicago, it might make sense to convert some vacant office space into lab space. Maybe Abbott Labs, AbbVie, and/or Baxter will eventually open labs in the city. In Hyde Park, we have no lab space for companies spun out of UChicago. Most end up moving to IIT or other areas of Chicago.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sixo1

It is nice that Chicago-based Sterling Bay and a Dallas-based company are developing life science research buildings in Chicago. Source. As a biologist, I can tell you there is no way we can work from home. When the life science industry grows in Chicago, it might make sense to convert some vacant office space into lab space. Maybe Abbott Labs, AbbVie, and/or Baxter will eventually open labs in the city. In Hyde Park, we have no lab space for companies spun out of UChicago. Most end up moving to IIT or other areas of Chicago.

My co-worker's wife is a biomedical engineer here in NYC area - she had to go into her lab something like 3 of 5 days per week. Kind of sucks as a whole during the pandemic. There were days she could work from home but I imagine those were administrative/number crunching with collected data types of days.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

A quantum leap for Chicago's tech economy?
A pair of big-money federal research grants give Chicago a ground-floor opportunity in a field many expect to transform computing.

Funny - as a computer scientist I've been learning more about quantum computing recently. There's a few people I work with who actually recently had some breakthroughs in this field with some of the outstanding problems that others were trying to solve.

Here's the thing though people need to understand. Obviously it's related to computing but the paradigms of it are completely different down to how the algorithms are actually written. You cannot think about quantum computing down to how it works anything like classical computers. It's just not the same.

Even the paradigm of logic gates is different along with having to understand questions like "what is superposition?" and "what is entanglement?" and how they are used in quantum algorithms.

While the skill sets are familiar to those who are familiar with actual computer science, computer engineering, etc (i.e. bit manipulation) - it still involves a new set of skills to even understand any of this. The industry I and many others work in are littered with people who understand how to make a product with a programming language, but do not understand the more low level theory and applications to have the skills to even do anything of use with quantum computing right now. Yes, Microsoft has a language to simulate quantum computing on a classical computer, but the main gist of it is still this low level thing (i.e. with Hadamard gates, CNOT gates, CCNOT gates, etc) that takes new training, and frankly a lot of people all over the world in 2020 might take awhile to understand in the first place.

Main point being - it's going to be a long time before your typical brogrammer is doing anything of use in quantum computing. What's important is that the Chicago area actually attract and continue to attract those who have an interest in this and innovate. This is similar to what happened in the Bay Area decades ago. Again, the paradigm of how quantum computers work and how their algorithms are written are different than a classical computer. Who knows if more "human" languages will be created anytime soon but I don't anticipate it for awhile.


Also, we are a long ways away from having actual consumer applications, if at all. The applications as of now are algorithmic in nature - not "make a game!" There are some mathematicians who have submitted proofs of why a legit physical quantum computer that we dream of in our homes (not the ones we have now - much larger) may not actually be physically possible. I follow their logic but haven't read the proofs - their reasons make fundamental sense to me.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by OrdoSeclorum

WOW. I would have lost that bet in like four different ways. I would have expected them to a) be made in Puerto Rico or someplace like that b) be part of a current production line and c) require about 1/10th the number of workers.

Two thousand workers moves the needle on regional employment, even in a very large metro.

An existing Maine facility is also being used.

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/08/...ate-1200-jobs/

Makes sense the company wants to cast a wide net to scale quickly

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by sixo1

When the life science industry grows in Chicago, it might make sense to convert some vacant office space into lab space.

I can't see this being remotely feasible, given the infrastructure that labs require - power, ventilation, etc. Very tough to put in an existing building.

I guess you could do what the Salk Institute did and put labs on every OTHER floor, reserving the intermediate floors for building systems and tech. But then the owner would need the labs to pay double the rent of an office user per SF.

[sixo1]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I can't see this being remotely feasible, given the infrastructure that labs require - power, ventilation, etc. Very tough to put in an existing building.

I guess you could do what the Salk Institute did and put labs on every OTHER floor, reserving the intermediate floors for building systems and tech. But then the owner would need the labs to pay double the rent of an office user per SF.

It is feasible, but like you said costly. There would have to be some serious demand. Power is not a concern, but excellent ventilation and gas/vacuum/pure water lines are a must. I have worked in old buildings that have been completely gutted and reopened as labs. This is common at universities that want to preserve their historical charm.

[VKChaz]

After pandemic-related delays, WGN America set to launch what could evolve into a new cable news station

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wg...nn/ar-BB18tMlQ

https://www.dailyherald.com/business...metime-history

https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...p-opinion-free

[the urban politician]

^ I've been looking forward to that for a while.

I hope it's successful. I plan to tune into it to give it a try

[Steely Dan]

CABLE NEWS
Keeping America's Morons "Informed"

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ I've been looking forward to that for a while.

I hope it's successful. I plan to tune into it to give it a try

I don't watch cable news, but breaking the East Coast stranglehold on it can't be a bad thing.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I don't watch cable news, but breaking the East Coast stranglehold on it can't be a bad thing.

Exactly

I also think that the notion of "star" reporters is a problem. We don't need highly opinionated so-called "reporters" making 7 or 8 figure salaries blasting their thoughts to us for hours a day.

We just need good, professional people reporting the news to us. And yes--let it come from CHICAGO (more in touch with the "heartland")

Hoping it's successful

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Exactly

I also think that the notion of "star" reporters is a problem. We don't need highly opinionated so-called "reporters" making 7 or 8 figure salaries blasting their thoughts to us for hours a day.

We just need good, professional people reporting the news to us. And yes--let it come from CHICAGO (more in touch with the "heartland")

Hoping it's successful

Those were the days. I can barely go online or to any TV news anymore without wanting to shoot myself. I hope they are able to succeed in giving actual objective news. There are many people who obviously love to be in their echo chambers, but there are many people like me who are fed up with the majority of the major news stations and their ability to not report news as objectively any longer.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

[b]...
Thanks to Argonne and Fermilab, Chicago will become a repository of basic knowledge and expertise in quantum computing. We'll have a cadre of technologists who know how the technology works and what it can do. That's a critical first step on the path to commercialization.

I agree this is good news.

Originally Posted by the urban politician

...
That talent drain helps explain why Chicago has been an also-ran in the high-growth technology industries that created millions of jobs over the past 30 years while employment fell in mainstay Chicago industries like manufacturing. We have no major players in information technology, mobile communications, ecommerce or social media. Where's our Apple, our Google, our Amazon?
...

Motorola was that. Sears was that. Both failed to make the transition. I personally blame Chicago's conservative business culture, which has changed some, finally, out of necessity, but still too many older companies in Chicago don't understand the requirements of the contemporary tech economy.

First, the idea that workers should participate in wealth creation still needs to grab hold here like it had on the West Coast. As long as it's resisted here, talent will go to where it's best rewarded. Which is still the West Coast. Salaries are higher there to cover cost of living, but the real reason tech workers go there is stock options. Chicago companies must get serious about giving out options, and workers need to be explicit about demanding them. It's ironic that a city where modern labor rights were born and that hosts the largest options exchanges in the world isn't able to grasp their necessity toward building next-gen technology businesses.

Second, that business plans are every bit as important to innovate with as any underlying tech itself is. This is why Chicago startups tend to be profitable sooner, but in today's tech industry that's not the way to create companies that change the world and means they grow more slowly meaning they ultimately lose the race to lead.

[ChiMIchael]

Originally Posted by emathias

I agree this is good news.



Motorola was that. Sears was that. Both failed to make the transition. I personally blame Chicago's conservative business culture, which has changed some, finally, out of necessity, but still too many older companies in Chicago don't understand the requirements of the contemporary tech economy.

First, the idea that workers should participate in wealth creation still needs to grab hold here like it had on the West Coast. As long as it's resisted here, talent will go to where it's best rewarded. Which is still the West Coast. Salaries are higher there to cover cost of living, but the real reason tech workers go there is stock options. Chicago companies must get serious about giving out options, and workers need to be explicit about demanding them. It's ironic that a city where modern labor rights were born and that hosts the largest options exchanges in the world isn't able to grasp their necessity toward building next-gen technology businesses.

Second, that business plans are every bit as important to innovate with as any underlying tech itself is. This is why Chicago startups tend to be profitable sooner, but in today's tech industry that's not the way to create companies that change the world and means they grow more slowly meaning they ultimately lose the race to lead.

Another issue I find is that Chicago isn't seen as a big fish (i.e., a place where people want to build a legacy.). You won't really have much personal investment in the city unless you're from here. Therefore, strong, charismatic -type leaders that can enact change are hard to come by and the city (both in the business community and politically) often settle for well-intention-ed types that are often over their heads. The city might be lucky to find the latter, but one has to hope that he or she feels the Chicago doesn't it his/her ambitions. Seattle wasn't a big fish until the 90s (if not a little earlier), but could we compare it to Chicago?