CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (July 27, 2026) — Kelsey Ortiz, CTO and co-founder of Photon Queue, joined the Innovations at Research Park podcast to discuss her journey building a quantum hardware startup and running a quantum experiment aboard the International Space Station.
Photon Queue is developing quantum memory hardware for scalable quantum computing to expedite the advancement and adoption of quantum communication, computing and metrology technologies. The company grew in Professor Paul Kwiat’s lab, starting as PhD research by co-founder Nathan Arnold before outside interest pushed the team to commercialize.
“It seems like people want to buy this. It seems like it’s competitive in the market,” Ortiz said, describing the moment the team realized their research had potential.
Photon Queue is an integrated startup of the University of Illinois entrepreneurship ecosystem, with investment from Illinois Ventures and a home in the EnterpriseWorks incubator at Research Park. The company is also the first quantum-focused startup to spin out of the University of Illinois through a licensing agreement developed with the University’s Office of Technology Management.
Ortiz described Research Park as more than just an incubator for Photon Queue.
“It gave us connections to people who really just want to help you build your business,” Ortiz said, pointing to the mentorship and hiring support that came with being a tenant at EnterpriseWorks.
To hear the full conversation about Kelsey Ortiz’s career and what’s next for Photon Queue, listen to the Innovations at Research Park podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast network.
The Innovations at Research Park podcast highlights Champaign’s thriving entrepreneurial and corporate innovation culture. It is hosted by Tanmay Shah, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumnus.
Is there something you want to know about Research Park? Do you have an idea for a guest for the show or a story we should pursue? Contact Kaleb Medina at kmedin22@illinois.edu
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About Research Park at the University of Illinois
Research Park at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a technology hub for startup companies and corporate research and development operations. Within Research Park there are 120 companies employing students and full-time technology professionals. More information at researchpark.illinois.edu.