IBM and the University of Chicago said IBM Quantum System Two was operating at Hyde Park Labs in Chicago on November 6, 2026. The installation, hosted by the university at 5207 S. Harper Ave., is built around IBM’s Nighthawk r2 processor and anchors a research center focused on quantum algorithms and applications. IBM and the University of Chicago announced the operating installation that day.
What’s inside the Chicago system
IBM identifies the installed processor as Nighthawk r2. The University of Chicago reports 120 programmable qubits and 218 tunable couplers, arranged in a square lattice. Each qubit connects to its four nearest neighbors.
| Component or feature | Reported Chicago configuration |
| Processor | IBM Quantum Nighthawk r2 |
| Programmable qubits | 120 |
| Tunable couplers | 218 |
| Connectivity | Square lattice; each qubit connects to its four nearest neighbors |
The qubit and coupler counts describe the processor’s configuration. The University of Chicago says the connectivity enables more complex circuits than IBM’s previous processor while keeping error rates low.
A qubit count describes processor architecture; by itself, it isn’t a speed score for a research task.
Research underway at the center
The Chicago system anchors the National Quantum Algorithm Center, a collaboration involving IBM, universities, national laboratories, startups and industry. IBM describes research into molecular simulation for drug discovery, power-grid optimization, high-energy physics and distributed quantum computing.
The named collaborations include Deloitte, AbbVie and Northwestern University on molecular-simulation approaches related to drug discovery; EPRI and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on power-grid optimization; and Fermilab on high-energy physics and distributed quantum computing. These are research efforts, not production outcomes.
Hyde Park Labs now, a planned move later
The University of Chicago says passersby can see the installation through street-level windows at Hyde Park Labs. IBM plans to move the system to the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park after that campus is complete.
