Edward Parker

Photo of Edward Parker
Physical Scientist
Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in physics, UC Santa Barbara; M.A. in physics, UC Santa Barbara; B.S. in physics, Brown University

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Edward Parker is a physical scientist at the RAND Corporation. He is broadly interested in the societal impact of disruptive technologies, and his current research focuses on emerging quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. He has published a research article on machine learning and interned at MIT's office in Washington DC, where he studied the optimal level of federal investment in alternate energy R&D. He has served as a peer reviewer for the physics journals Quantum Science and Technology, the European Journal of Physics, and Statistica A. Prior to joining RAND, Parker received his Ph.D. in theoretical solid-state physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he numerically modeled exotic magnetic materials that could be useful for building quantum computers.

Research Focus

Selected Publications

Parker, Edward, Daniel Gonzales, Ajay K. Kochhar, Sydney Litterer, Kathryn O'Connor, Jon Schmid, Keller Scholl, Richard Silberglitt, Joan Chang, Christopher A. Eusebi, and Scott W. Harold, An Assessment of the U.S. and Chinese Industrial Bases in Quantum Technology, RAND Corporation (RR-A869-1), 2022

Gavin S Hartnett, Edward Parker, Timothy R Gulden, Raffaele Vardavas, David Kravitz, "Modelling the impact of social distancing and targeted vaccination on the spread of COVID-19 through a real city-scale contact network," Journal of Complex Networks, 9(6), 2021

Edward Parker, "Security Implications of Quantum Communications and Computing," Issues & Insights, 21(SR1), 2021

Tarraf, Danielle C., William Shelton, Edward Parker, Brien Alkire, Diana Gehlhaus, Justin Grana, Alexis Levedahl, Jasmin Léveillé, Jared Mondschein, James Ryseff, Ali Wyne, Daniel Elinoff, Edward Geist, Benjamin N. Harris, Eric Hui, Cedric Kenney, Sydne J. Newberry, Chandler Sachs, Peter Schirmer, Danielle Schlang, Victoria M. Smith, Abbie Tingstad, Padmaja Vedula, and Kristin Warren, The Department of Defense Posture for Artificial Intelligence: Assessment and Recommendations, RAND Corporation (RR-4229-OSD), 2019

Gavin Hartnett, Edward Parker, and Edward Geist, "Replica Symmetry Breaking in Bipartite Spin Glasses and Neural Networks," Physical Review E, 98, 2018

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: Government Matters; NextGov

Commentary

  • An inside look at an ion trap within Quantinuum's quantum computer, which processes data using trapped-ion technology, Broomfield, Colorado, December 6, 2021, photo by Quantinuum/Handout via Reuters
    Cybersecurity

    Hack Post-Quantum Cryptography Now So That Bad Actors Don't Do It Later

    The U.S. government should consider offering a public cash bounty to anyone who can crack the new forms of encryption that are being rolled out to defend against quantum computers. If a bounty helps catch a vulnerability before it's deployed, then the modest cost of the bounty could prevent much higher costs down the line.

    Jul 28, 2022

    Lawfare

Publications