A nonprofit research organization, the Qualcomm Institute (QI) is dedicated to bringing together interdisciplinary teams at UC San Diego and beyond to leverage cutting-edge technology to address large-scale challenges facing the 21st century. QI conducts pioneering research in technology, culture, energy, the environment, and health; provides a range of research and other services to its partners and affiliates; and offers varied hands-on educational opportunities.
Founded in 2000 with the establishment of the UC system’s four Gray Davis Institutes for Science and Innovation, QI belongs to the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) consortium with UC Irvine and, most recently, UC Riverside. The UC San Diego division of Calit2 was renamed the Qualcomm Institute in 2013 in recognition of the company’s generous philanthropic support.
QI By the Numbers
50
+
START-UPS HAVE USED
THE QI INNOVATION SPACE
$
63
+M
IN CURRENT GRANTS
127000
SQUARE FEET OF
STATE-OF-THE-ART
RESEARCH SPACE
Why QI?: Faculty and Staff respond in their own words
Our People
QI brings together talent from across disciplines—more than 250 faculty members, about 100 technical and professional staff on the UC San Diego campus, as well as hundreds of student workers, undergraduate scholars, graduate fellows, postdoctoral researchers, and project and research scientists. QI has also worked with more than 200 industry partners.
View Directories“Universities have always played a role in being forward-looking, and Qualcomm Institute is very much at the point of the spear in this regard.”
Video Tour: 10 Intriguing Spaces in QI’s Atkinson Hall
Fun facts about QI
Illumina’s breakthrough genome sequencing under $1K was developed at QI facilities
Pluto’s reclassification as a non-planet was made possible by QI networks
QI’s Circuits Labs pioneered groundbreaking techniques that broke world records for energy efficiency and power amplifiers, which became standard in cell phones
QI-incubated companies contributed to the COVID-19 response: Nanome provided technology assisting study of the virus; flashPub’s platform facilitated predictive models; Learning Equality supported long-distance learning.
QI participates in UC San Diego’s Park & Market facility downtown and is exploring new ways to bring wireless access to underserved areas in San Diego’s Promise Zone
QI hosts more than 100 events each year, from conferences to receptions for visual arts exhibits in Gallery QI
A QI affiliate used crowdsourcing and satellite imagery to help find clues to the location of Genghis Khan’s tomb
In 2012, the world’s smallest room-temperature nanolaser for its time was built in QI Nano3 facilities
Incubated at QI
The QI Innovation Space has provided a launching pad for many emerging companies and organizations. In addition to receiving space inside QI’s Atkinson Hall, participating groups have easy access to QI services, faculty collaborators and student employees, supporting the ventures’ success.
Your gifts to the Qualcomm Institute accelerate innovation beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplines.
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