Fort Lewis College is making quantum computing and nanotechnology big – at least, metaphorically. The college, which was given a portion of a $127 million federal and state Elevate Quantum Tech Hub workforce development programming grant in 2024, held its second quantum computing and nanotech workshop this week for high school and FLC undergraduate students – one of several initiatives the grant has made possible. The grant has also funded future research projects at FLC, compensated student positions in the nano lab, and made possible the purchase of an optical tweezer device – a laser system that traps and moves microscopic particles using light. Jeff Jessing, professor of physics and engineering at Fort Lewis College, said nanotechnology studies and quantum computing – and, by extension, the work being done at the FLC nano lab – can have a significant impact on the world. “This emerging technology, if it comes to fruition, probably will change the world … like dramatically change the world,” he said. Quantum computing has the potential to impact a range of fields by helping the design of new medications through molecular studies or optimizing supply chains for companies, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The FLC nano lab includes a range of high-tech, high level machinery, including microscopes; a Denton vacuum, used to vaporize materials to coat substrates such as silicon wafers with a thin layer of metal or other substances; and a tube furnace, used to grow thin oxides and to introduce impurities or dopants that affect the conductivity inside silicon – all devices that are impressive for a rural college to have, Jessing said. “Most people in Durango have no idea that we have these facilities here,” he said. “... Southwest Colorado is kind of isolated from the rest of the state