Northwestern Now Innovative step by Northwestern, UChicago scientists could boost computing, sensing December 08, 2020 Scientists have developed a way to synthesize tailor-made molecular qubits. Illustration courtesy of Daniel Laorenza, Northwestern University. With their ability to harness the strange powers of quantum mechanics, qubits are the basis for potentially world-changing technologies â like powerful new types of computers or ultra-precise sensors. Qubits (short for quantum bits) are often made of the same semiconducting materials as our everyday electronics. But an interdisciplinary team of chemists and physicists at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago has developed a new method to create tailor-made qubits: by chemically synthesizing molecules that encode quantum information into their magnetic, or âspin,â states.