FAU received a $200,000 NIST cooperative agreement to train a quantum cybersecurity workforce in Palm Beach, Broward and Treasure Coast counties. FIU expects an IonQ machine in late 2027. #Quantum #FAU #FIU #Cybersecurity
South Florida’s quantum workforce just received a federal boost. Florida Atlantic University has won a $200,000 cooperative agreement from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The money comes through NIST’s Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) program for cybersecurity education and workforce development. FAU is one of nine organizations in eight states selected, FAU reports.
What Will the Grant Pay For?
The project covers Palm Beach and Broward counties, plus Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Treasure Coast.
It will train students and professionals through hands-on training, curriculum development and career pathways. The focus is the cybersecurity challenge that quantum computing and power systems infrastructure create.
FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science leads the work with D-Wave Quantum. Other partners include InfraGard South Florida Members Alliance, the School District of Palm Beach County and Broward County Public Schools.
FAU’s Alexander D. Henderson University School is also a partner. Because the list reaches into K-12 schools, the program targets the whole pipeline, not only college students.
Why Pair Quantum With Cybersecurity?
Allison Schwartz, D-Wave’s senior vice president of global government relations and public affairs, explained the logic in a statement.
“As quantum computing moves from research laboratories into real-world applications, developing a workforce that understands both the opportunities and cybersecurity implications of these technologies is essential,” she said.
Schwartz added that combining D-Wave’s technologies with FAU’s academic strengths and regional partnerships will help create “a pipeline of talent equipped to address the challenges and opportunities of the quantum era.”
For executives, the quantum workforce question is practical. Quantum machines are moving from the lab toward real use, and the people who can secure them are scarce.
Two Universities, Two Kinds of Machine
FAU says it will be the first university in Florida to publicly host a dedicated 4,400+ annealing quantum computer, through its D-Wave partnership.
Down the coast, FIU signed an agreement with IonQ to install a Superion 256 trapped-ion system on its Miami campus. It is expected in late 2027. MAIN has covered FIU landing Florida’s first full quantum computer.
Both schools claim a first, and both claims can hold. The two firsts describe different hardware: annealing at FAU and trapped-ion at FIU.
FIU also runs CIERTA, its Center for Integrated Security, Privacy, and Trustworthy AI. It studies adversarial machine learning and LLM security, and it aims to become South Florida’s cybersecurity research and innovation hub, as MAIN reported in September.
FAU’s Research Park Keeps Growing
The project also arrives at a pivotal time for FAU and the state, because of the university’s plan to host that annealing machine.
The quantum workforce effort sits beside a growing startup base. The grant arrives as FAU’s ecosystem expands. Global Ventures, the soft-landing incubator at the Research Park at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, added three companies this week.
They are BANKIRR, Novprox and Vesica Pulse Sensing. BANKIRR is an FAU Tech Runway graduate with a mortgage-offer platform that draws on more than 40 participating lenders.
Two existing members are also growing. CloudLabs, a Colombian educational technology company, tripled its presence with an immersive space that combines physical equipment, IoT technology and virtual reality.
Standard Space Antennas, originally from Argentina, develops flight-proven antenna technologies for satellite constellations. It added a full operational lab as it expands U.S. sales and hiring.
Novprox builds shelf-stable therapeutic nutrition products. Vesica Pulse Sensing, founded by a 25-year former FDA cardiology leader, is developing technology in the urology space.
“Global Ventures has become a recognized front door to the United States for international technology companies,” said Andrew Duffell, the research park’s president.
South Florida is building quantum capacity on two fronts: machines in Boca Raton and Miami, and the quantum workforce to run and secure them.
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