Quantum Steals Home: Athletic Fields Are Moved to Make Way For Princeton’s New Quantum Facility

Insider Brief

• Princeton University will move its storied athletic fields to make way for the new Quantum Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering.
• Princeton has been home to several significant quantum advances recently.
• The Quantum Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering will be a multidisciplinary facility specifically built for the quantum science, according to a university spokesperson.
• Photo by Joshua Jen on Unsplash

In the big money world of college athletics, it’s not often that university sports take a back seat to academics and research. Quantum may be forcing a change-up.

Princeton University announced recently that it is preparing for a transition that will sees its baseball and softball fields traded for the cutting edge of quantum research. The university has been leaning heavily into quantum science.

The Daily Princetonian has reported that both the baseball and softball teams will soon bid farewell to their current homes, as these spaces make way for the construction of the new Quantum Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering. This development underscores the growth of the campus, and hints at the growing importance of quantum research.

University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill told the student paper: “the Quantum Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering will be a multidisciplinary facility specifically built for the rigorous needs of quantum science,” adding that the facility will “include ample lab space for new as well as for existing faculty members, as well as spaces to foster collaboration and cross-pollination.”

Campus officials also tell The Daily Princetonian that it makes sense for other reasons — and addresses the needs of a growing campus of the Ivy League school. The student paper reports the upcoming relocation isn’t just a short hop across the campus; it’s a quantum leap to the other side of Lake Carnegie, the artificial lake on campus. The softball team is set to move to a new stadium in the Meadows Neighborhood of West Windsor, slated for completion this spring. This move places them close to new graduate housing and a suite of athletic facilities including a cross-country course, rugby fields, and the Racquet Center, which opens its doors this fall.

Although there’s no official word yet on relocating the baseball team, it’s anticipated they will join their softball counterparts in the Meadows Neighborhood.

The Daily Princetonian reports that the Quantum Institute will serve as a multidisciplinary quantum science facility. It will house Princeton’s four main areas of quantum research — Quantum Systems Experiment, Quantum Systems Theory, Quantum Materials Science, and Quantum Computer Science, according to the paper.

“The timing to be investing in [the quantum physics] field is excellent given the recent advances and the remarkable opportunities that are just ahead in terms of exciting fundamental science and potential applications,” Dr. Ali Yazdani, co-director of the Princeton Quantum Initiative, told the paper.

The Clarke and Strubing Fields have been home to Princeton Tiger’s baseball and softball teams for decades. Clarke Field, in particular, has been the legendary bastion of Tiger baseball, celebrating over 500 wins across 63 years, the paper reports.