New York University and IBM have launched a joint postdoctoral research program aimed at advancing quantum algorithms and applications across chemistry, materials science, physics, optimization, engineering, and computer science. According to NYU’s announcement on 11 May 2026, postdoctoral researchers selected for the program will conduct quantum-related projects, sponsored and supported by IBM and the company’s quantum researchers, at NYU’s Quantum Institute and at IBM Research headquarters at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, using IBM’s quantum computers.
The collaboration operates within NYU’s membership in the IBM Quantum Network, a consortium of academic institutions, enterprises, startups, and government labs working to advance quantum computing through research and technological development. According to NYU, the program is intended to push quantum algorithms and applications development for today’s quantum-centric supercomputer architectures, which combine quantum and classical high-performance computing workloads, as well as for future large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers. These systems are expected to accelerate time and cost efficiencies in fields such as drug development, materials discovery, chemistry, and optimization.
NYU Professor Javad Shabani, director of NYU’s Quantum Institute, will oversee the university’s role in the program. Jamie Garcia, Director of Growth and Strategic Partnerships at IBM, said the program will give NYU postdoctoral researchers an opportunity to work on IBM’s quantum-centric supercomputing architecture for both near-term application development and future fault-tolerant quantum algorithms.
The program builds on an earlier NYU-IBM initiative that provided training for NYU undergraduate and graduate students in quantum information physics. NYU established its Quantum Institute in fall 2025, with a focus on research across quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensing, while also serving as a hub for collaboration between academia and the private sector.