U of I Quantum Circuit Conference (UIQC)

May 19 - 22, 2026
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign


The U of I Quantum Circuit Conference will focus on fundamental questions and emerging trends in the field of superconducting quantum circuits. Topics of special interest are: 

  • Limits of coherence
  • Protected and driven circuits
  • Applications – new paradigms for scaling, control, and readout

Application and Registration


Everyone interested should fill out the application form. Applications are due February 28. 

The registration deadline for accepted applications is March 31. A registration link will be sent directly to accepted applicants. The conference fee will be due at the time of registration.

During application you can indicate if you are applying for a contributed talk, and/or whether you are planning on bringing a poster. Please be aware that we have a limited number of contributed talks, and that we are aiming to provide a platform for as many research groups as possible. Decisions on contributed talks will be communicated by the first week of April. 

If you have any questions, please send an email to uiucquantumcircuits@illinois.edu

 

Application Form

 

 

Cost and Financial support

 

The conference fee is $300 for senior participants (including faculty, senior scientists, and postdocs), and $200 for students (graduate and undergraduate). If spaces are available, a late registration after March 31 will be possible. The registration fee will increase by $100 after March 31. 

Participants are responsible for travel and lodging.

We do offer financial aid for students in the form of provided and paid-for hotel rooms for the duration of the conference. During registration, you can indicate whether you want to be considered for one. Rooms will be assigned on a first-come first-serve basis; we will let you know by March 20 if you have been assigned a room.
 
 
 

Travel and Lodging

 

Getting Here


The local airport in Urbana-Champaign is CMI, which has connections 6x-daily to Chicago and 2x-daily to Dallas.

Larger airports with direct connections to most cities are located about 2 hours drive away in Indianapolis (IND), and Chicago (ORD or MDW). Peoria Charter runs a shuttle from ORD and MDW to Urbana. You can also take Amtrak (~2 hrs) between downtown Chicago (CHI) and Champaign (CHM).

 

Hotels in Champaign-Urbana


A link for our block booking of hotel rooms at the Hyatt Place will be provided upon registration.

Once this block booking is full, alternative options include the Illini Union, the Hotel Royer Urbana, the Hampton Inn Champaign/Urbana, or the Champaign Garden Inn (B&B). There are also multiple AirBnB’s available in the Urbana/Champaign area.

For information such as restaurants and other places to explore while you are here for the conference, please check Experience Champaign-Urbana.  


Scientific Program


We will have approximately 10 invited talks and 20-25 contributed talks that will be solicited through applications. There will also be nightly poster sessions to which we invite all participants to contribute. 


Confirmed Invited Speakers


Alexandre Blais

Université de Sherbrooke

Alicia Kollár
University of Maryland

Frederik Nathan
University of Copenhagen

Oskar Painter
California Institute of Technology
Amazon Web Services

Alp Sipahigil
University of California, Berkeley


Johannes Fink

Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Alex Opremcak
Google Quantum AI

John Teufel
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Peter Leek
University of Oxford
Oxford Quantum Circuits

Rob Schoelkopf
Yale University
Quantum Circuits Inc.

Preliminary Program

 

Tuesday, May 19

5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Reception and Poster Session

 

Wednesday, May 20

9:00 - 12:00 p.m.
Session 1
12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch Break
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Session 2
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Reception and Poster Session

 

Thursday, May 21

9:00 - 12:00 p.m.
Session 3
12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch Break
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Session 4
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Reception and Poster Session
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Evening Event (TBD)

 

Friday, May 22

9:00 - 12:00 p.m.
Session 5
12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch Break
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Session 6
5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Networking Event

 
Conference Organizing Committee

Wolfgang Pfaff

Wolfgang Pfaff, Chair

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Aashish A Clerk

The University of Chicago

Jens Koch

Northwestern University

 

Angela Kou

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Ruichao (Alex) Ma 

Purdue University

Britton Plourde

University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Qolab