Harnessing Quantum Technology for the Benefit of Society

Dr. Gambetta is the Vice President in charge of IBM’s overall Quantum initiative. He was named as an IBM Fellow in 2018 for his leadership in advancing superconducting quantum computing and establishing IBM’s quantum strategy. Under his leadership, the IBM Quantum team has made a series of major breakthroughs in quantum computing: the IBM Quantum Experience – the world-first cloud-based quantum computing platform, Qiskit – an open-source quantum software development kit, and the IBM Quantum System One, a family of quantum processors for clients. IBM Quantum continues to expand in the market by providing Quantum as a Service with over 20 quantum systems available online, building the foundations of the quantum industry. Dr. Gambetta received his Ph.D. in Physics from Griffith University in Australia. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has over 130 publications in the field of quantum information science with over 37,000 citations.

Dr. Hudson is a professor of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA. His research interest lies at the intersection of quantum information science and fundamental physics, where he has developed new qubits, quantum operations, and error correction. He is the founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering and a Co-Director of the NSF Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation. He also founded the UCLA Master of Quantum Science and Technology Degree program.

Mr. Gomi is the President and CEO of NTT Research, Inc., the global R&D arm of NTT. The organization was established in April 2019 in Silicon Valley, CA, to conduct basic research in Physics & Informatics (quantum computing), Cryptography & Information Security, and Medical & Health Informatics. Before assuming this position, he was a board member of NTT Communications and led NTT America in New York as its CEO for more than nine years. Mr. Gomi has been an NTT employee for 30+ years, engaged in R&D, International business development, and global Internet business. Mr. Gomi received a Master of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and also from Keio University in Tokyo. Mr. Gomi is a board member of US-Japan Council.

Mr. Fukumori is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Physics at Caltech doing experimental research in developing quantum technologies for quantum networks. Specifically, he uses rare-earth ions doped in solids to make quantum transducers and memories, where he focuses both on the fundamental understanding of the physics and the engineering aspects to improve device performance. Originally from Tokyo, he attended the University of Chicago for his BA in Physics, where he found his passion for quantum science. He is also interested in facilitating collaboration for quantum communication research among nations and hopes to use his expertise in this field to eventually contribute to the construction of a quantum link, for example between Japan and the United States. In his free time, Riku likes to explore the great outdoors that Southern California has to offer.

Dr. Merzbacher is Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), a consortium that aims to enable and grow the U.S. quantum industry. Managed by SRI, QED-C is supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and 250 industry, academic and other members. Dr. Merzbacher is U.S. Co-Chair of the Quad Investors Network’s Quantum Center of Excellence and serves as an advisor to several quantum research organizations. Previously, Dr. Merzbacher was Vice President for Innovative Partnerships at the Semiconductor Research Corporation. In 2003-2008, she was Assistant Director for Technology R&D in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Dr. Merzbacher is a Fellow of the AAAS and served as Chair of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

Dr. Goban is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Nanofiber Quantum Technologies (NanoQT), where he leads the scientific and engineering innovations in building quantum computing technologies with nanofiber cavities and neutral-atom arrays. Prior to his role at NanoQT, he was instrumental in developing the most precise atomic clocks at JILA, University of Colorado Boulder, serving as a postdoctoral researcher. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tokyo and a PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology, where he developed a nanophotonic cavity QED platform.

Mr. Lipman is Chief Commercial Officer at Infleqtion, where he leads productization and growth efforts at the cutting edge of quantum technology. Paul previously led multiple successful cybersecurity companies to exit as CEO and has extensive experience leading complex global organizations and transforming cultures, sales execution and innovation delivery. He has an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and a BSc in Physics from the Victoria University of Manchester, England.

Dr. Hornung is a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation. He is also an adjunct professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He specializes in Japanese security and foreign policies, East Asian security issues, and U.S. foreign and defense policies in the Indo-Pacific region, including its alliances. Hornung has written extensively about Japanese security and foreign policy issues and broader Northeast Asia security issues for numerous media, policy, and academic outlets. He received his Ph.D. in political science from The George Washington University. During 2005–2006, Hornung was a visiting scholar at the University of Tokyo where he conducted his doctoral research as a Fulbright Fellow. He also holds an M.A. in international relations with a concentration in Japan Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Dr. Parker is a Physical Scientist at the RAND Corporation whose research focuses on emerging technologies, with a particular focus on quantum technology. He has published several reports performing comparative assessments of several nations’ efforts in quantum technology and analyzing challenges in adopting next-generation cryptography systems that are resistant to attacks from quantum computers. He has also published research on policy related to artificial intelligence and 5G telecom. 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.